SPECIAL UPDATE : 22 May 2000  'RITE OF PASSAGE'

 
We have been exceptionally fortunate with weather conditions so far on the project and no more so than the recent week during which a team of staff and volunteers from Bradford Countryside Service, aided by Darwin Gardens Trust workers, succeeded in laying out the flagstones and turf surrounds of the Millennium Maze. This feature - the centrepiece of Darwin Gardens Millennium Green - was designed by Dr John Haigh of Ilkley, and supported by a donation from Crest Homes (Northern) Ltd. The maze now unites the two stone monuments constructed by stonecarver Darren Yeadon, and the whole feature should be complete for our Millennium Green launch day on June 24th.

The maze consists of a network of pathways formed from 1000 flagstones symbolising 1000 years of a Millennium, and each stone is available for dedication by the individuals, social groups and businesses which make up, or have links with, our community. Now that the pathways have been completed, the maze will offer something for both young and old - to amuse and entertain, to exercise and educate, to stimulate the imagination, to meditate upon. The entrance is by the lower monument - a boulder from nearby Ilkley Moor which has been carved to reflect themes from archaic myth and ancient fossil patterns. Passing through the maze involves treading the twisting design taken from the fylfot of Ilkley's famous 'Swastika Stone'; the possibility of encountering dead-ends; and also many 'ups and downs' in order to make progress towards the exit by the upper monument.

This has been carved from a quarried gritstone boulder and combines a modern interpretation of historic cross forms to commemorate the Christian Millennium, with a flower motif to represent the creation of the Millennium Green. A procession of creatures from various geological eras winds up the stem to illustrate stages in biological evolution - the subject of Darwin's great work 'The Origin of Species'. Passage through the maze can be taken as a metaphor for crossing the millennia from a primeval past to an evolving present. Many people - from toddlers to pensioners - have already enjoyed taking up the challenge!

Flagstone dedications can be made by post or personal call at Parish Clerk's Office, Town Hall, Ilkley, LS29 8HB (01943 436212), where each flagstone can be dedicated for a donation of £5 to the Darwin Gardens Trust, a Registered Charity responsible for the Green. (personal callers between 10 - 12 am on Mondays/Wednesdays/Thursdays/Fridays please).

We believe that Darwin Gardens Millennium Green has the potential to be a major asset to our town, and hope that Olicanians will derive much pleasure and justifiable pride in this contribution to our heritage. We welcome all sections of our community - individuals, businesses, schools and societies - to become involved in this unique opportunity to commemorate the Millennium in Ilkley, and to come to the official opening on June 24th 2000.

Note this green letter date in your diary! - our official opening will be on 24th June 2000

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