Dates: Saturday 6 September 2025–Sunday 21 September 2025, 12:00 am
Venue: York Museums Gardens
Dame Judi Dench Walk, York Museum Gardens
6 – 21 September 2025 | Free admission | Open 24 hours a day
Dates: Saturday 6 September 2025–Sunday 21 September 2025, 12:00 am
Venue: York Museums Gardens
Dame Judi Dench Walk, York Museum Gardens
6 – 21 September 2025 | Free admission | Open 24 hours a day
Date: Saturday 13 September 2025, 2:00 pm-4:00 pm
Venue: York Art Gallery
Join us at York Art Gallery for life drawing workshops; whether you are a regular participant, would like to hone your skills, or try life drawing for the first time, these regular two-hour immersive Saturday sessions, led by Rob Oldfield, are a wonderful way to experience life drawing in a supportive and friendly environment.
Date: Wednesday 17 September 2025, 10:30 am-11:30 am
Venue: York Museum Gardens
Join us for a community bird watch in the gardens and look out for the diverse range of birds in the garden.
Meet at the Birdwatching Station behind the rock garden 10:30am-11:30am.
This is a free event, no booking required.
Date: Saturday 20 September 2025, All Day
Venue: York Castle Musuem
Date: Saturday 20 September 2025, 10:30 am-3:30 pm
Venue: York Museum Gardens
Come and join us for the final plant sale of the year!
We have a selection of young, grafted apple trees available to buy at our plant sale on Saturday 20th September. There are 16 different cultivars, 6 of which are heritage Yorkshire varieties that can be found growing in our newly planted Orchard. There is a range of cooking and dessert apples. All were grafted on site in March 2024, and are currently growing in 5-litre pots on M26 root stock*
All trees priced at £45. We have limited availability of each cultivar; please send an enquiry if you would like to preorder.
* M26 is a good general-purpose rootstock, which can be used for a wide variety of purposes, from medium-sized bush trees, to cordons and espaliers. One of the most cold-hardy of the Malling-series rootstocks.
Cultivars Available
Nancy Jackson (3 available)
Excellent late cooking variety, first described in 1875 but probably much older. Very large handsome fruit, green with a deep rosy-red blush, which keep their shape when cooked. Superb, rich flavour, the fruit stores through until April. Widely grown in the North Riding of Yorkshire throughout the 1900s.
Flower of the Town (1 available)
Rare traditional Yorkshire variety, originating in the famous Backhouse nursery in York, sometime before 1831. Bright red flushed second-early dessert apple which is sharp and hard. The tree is hardy, vigorous, and spreading, and bears large brightly coloured fruit. Counted as a dessert variety, the flavour is crisp and sharp.
Bramley (1 available)
A large, late cooking apple with mid-green skin, sometimes flushed with brownish-red, and sharp-tasting, greenish-white, flesh
Catshead (2 available)
A large, midseason heritage cooking apple, with an angular shape, yellow-green skin flushed with orange, and dry, crisp white flesh that cooks to a firm, sharp puree. Ready to harvest in mid-autumn
Adam’s Pearmain (2 available)
A late, dessert apple with yellow, conical fruit with red stripes, an orange-red flush and scattered russetting. The cream flesh has a fairly dry texture, and an aromatic, nutty flavour. Spreading, part tip-bearing trees produce a good crop in mid-autumn, the fruit storing to early spring.
Egremont Russet (1 available)
A dessert cultivar in Suitable for northerly, colder, higher rainfall areas. Produces good, regular crops of apples; yellowish-green, up to half flushed brownish-red and covered with russet. Characteristic nutty flavour with a season of use from October to December
Katy (1 available)
An early-season, vigorous, heavy-cropping, dessert apple for picking and eating in early to mid-autumn. The skin is yellow-green, prominently flushed with pinkish-red and the juicy, white flesh has a sweet, tangy flavour.
Discovery (2 available)
‘Discovery’ is a dessert apple that has a fairly compact habit. It can grow to 2.5-8m in height and width, depending on the rootstock. White flowers are followed by fruit that can be used from August to September.
Balsam (2 available)
Known as ‘The farmer’s wife’s apple’, this smallish, bright green apple was once grown in almost every garden and orchard in Yorkshire. Crops consistently and prolifically with the added bonus of very attractive pinkish-white blossom. A strong grower with a vigorous branching habit.
Merton Worcester (1 available)
An excellent early to mid season red apple with a strawberry flavour.
James Grieves (1 available)
An early dessert cultivar, suitable for northerly, colder rainfall areas. Good, regular crops of apples, yellow-green speckled and striped orange-red, but can easily bruise. Can be used for cooking if picked early before ripe. Savoury, crisp to melting flesh; when cooked keeps shape, with juicy, delicate flavour. Season of use is from September to October, and longer
Ribston Pippin (2 available)
18th century eating apple, first grown at Ribston Hall, Yorkshire. Produces good, regular crops of apples, greenish-yellow flushed orange red. An intense, rich, aromatic flavour; more acidity and more robust than Cox. Season of use from October to January.
Yorkshire Greening (2 available)
A large, late, cooking apple with dark green skin flushed with red, and very juicy, firm, acidic, greenish flesh cooking to a strong, fruity puree. Listed in Perfects of Pontefract’s catalogue of 1769, this is old Yorkshire variety was prized for it’s tart flavour and ability to cut the fattiness of a roast goose at Christmas time.
Pollination group C
Sharleston Pippin (2 available)
Originated in Yorkshire, 1888. Rare Yorkshire dessert variety. Light flavour, sweet and juicy.
Dog’s Snout (1 available)
Quite a rare Yorkshire Apple, this produces unusual pear-shaped fruit with a wonderful, distinct flavour. Delightful pale pink blossom in the Spring. Very hardy and reliable.
Fiesta (1 available)
Its flavour is rich, aromatic and sweet with a crisp texture from its orange/red with short red stripes, slightly ribbed, apples. Ideal for colder areas. Although classed as a dessert apple, it can also be used for cooking and juicing.
The plant sale will be running 10:30-3:30pm outside the Yorkshire Museum.
Not only will buying a plant support the work of York Museums Trust but will also be your chance to have a part of York Museum Gardens at home.
Date: Sunday 28 September 2025, 11:00 am-3:00 pm
Venue: York Museum Gardens
Sunday 28th of September
Free event No booking required
As part of York Food and Drink Festival, please join us for a Dosti Friendship Picnic in York Museum Gardens.
Please meet at the Pavilion and bring your own Picnic, rugs and chairs. Activities include arts and crafts, traditional music and teapot yoga.
NHS services and screenings, and a prayer room is available to use.
Date: Tuesday 30 September 2025, 2:00 pm-3:00 pm
Venue: York Museum Gardens
Learn about the initiatives and interventions York Museums Trust’s Gardens Team have made to make their busy public garden more wildlife friendly. Take a tour around over 10 acres of grounds, discovering inspiration for your own garden or workplace green spaces.
You’ll learn about climate change and biodiversity, discover the importance of insects for the food chain and how to manage your green space throughout the seasons to create wildlife habitat, and adopt a new perspective with some native weeds.
Suited to people aged 12+ with an interest in making green spaces more wildlife friendly. Under 16’s must be accompanied by and adult.
Meet on the hard standing in front of the entrance to the Yorkshire Museum.
Booking required. A booking link will be made available soon on the York Environment Festival website. Curious & Creative Gardening Tour: Wildlife-Friendly Museum Gardens – York Environment Festival
Please note: This event is weather dependant. If adverse weather conditions cause this event to be cancelled, ticket holders will be notified.
Date: Wednesday 1 October 2025, 2:00 pm-2:30 pm
Venue: York Art Gallery
Date: Thursday 2 October 2025, 6:00 pm-9:00 pm
Venue: Yorkshire Museum
Yorkshire Museum Late: Viking North
02 October 2025 | 6 – 9pm | £20 per person | Ages 18+
Book tickets here
Explore our latest exhibition ‘Viking North’ after hours.
Join us for Viking themed games, music, creative activities and live performance celebrating the incredible ‘Viking North’ exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum.
Meet characters from the Viking Winter camp and gather round the fire for stories, music, games and laughter bringing to life the magnificent objects on display through live performance from History Riot.
Immerse yourself in Viking-inspired creativity with a special drop-in pinch pot making session inspired by the collection led by local ceramicist Emily Stubbs, using air-drying clay. Get hands-on, explore your inner maker and take home your very own Viking vessel.
Grab refreshments from Sketch Bar and Horsebox and enjoy the evening accompanied by a live DJ.
Don’t miss out on this exciting night at the museum – the perfect start to Autumn!
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