A key feature of Darwin Gardens is the unique Millennium Green Maze which was designed by Dr John Haigh of Ilkley and laid in May 2000 by Bradford Countryside Service and local volunteers of the Darwin Gardens Trust.
There is a wildlife hedgerow of 1000 dedicated bushes and it features 1000 individually donated flagstones, each one for each year of the Millennium. Some have been created with special designs and dedications from the community and local businesses. The maze pathway links to two carved stone monuments by Darren Yeadon of Whitby and represents a quest from past to present times.
The monument at the start of the maze suggests early mankind’s ideas about the world, drawing on symbols from ancient rock-carvings found upon Ilkley Moor, and fossils of primitive life-forms. The swirling maze-path design is based on the ancient fylfot symbol carved into the Swastika Stone some 2km west up on the Moor.
The monument at the end of the maze has a archaic cross which symbolises the coming of Christianity to Ilkley and commemorating the Christian Millennium. The emergence of evolutionary ideas, and of a flower to represent the regeneration of this area, are also depicted on this fine carving.
