York Museum Gardens after dark: August evenings

York Museum Gardens is one of those places most people walk past without really looking at, but it's worth a bit more attention than that. It sits right in the centre of York by the River Ouse, covering ten acres of what used to be the grounds of St Mary's Abbey, and it's been free to wander through since the 1830s when the Yorkshire Philosophical Society laid it out alongside the Yorkshire Museum. The gardens were designed in the gardenesque style by the landscape architect Sir John Murray Naysmith, and they hold something like 4,500 plants and trees, from native English species to arrivals from around the world. There's even an 'Edible Wood' tucked behind the York Art Gallery, planted back in July 2015.

For most of the year, the gardens are a daytime spot, open seven days a week from 9am to 6pm. But this August, they're doing something different: a series of exclusive after-hours summer evenings, including adults-only nights, that let you see the place in a light it's rarely shown. The one to know about is 'Evening in the Gardens', which falls on Friday 14 August from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. It's strictly 18+, so it's an adults-only night, and it gives you private access to the grounds after the gates would normally be shut. The ticket is £7.50, which includes a complimentary cocktail on arrival, and you'll need to book ahead through the York Museums Trust website rather than turning up on spec.

Once you're in, the evening is built for taking it slow. There's ambient music playing, a bar for drinks, street food to graze on, and plenty of time for a leisurely stroll around the grounds without the usual daytime crowds. It's a different way to experience a space that's usually free and open to everyone, and the adults-only format makes it an easy one to bring a friend along to for a quiet night out.

If you're around the gardens at other times in August, there's a fair bit else going on. Community Birdwatching runs on Wednesday 12 August from 10.30am to 11.30am, free to join, and you meet at the bird feeding station by the rock garden with Gardens Duty Manager Isabelle. Art Outdoors is a fortnightly Thursday session, so it's back on Thursday 13 August from 11am to 4pm, weather permitting and free, with an outdoor game inspired by the 'Chariots, Treasure and Power: Secrets of the Melsonby Hoard' exhibition. Over at the Yorkshire Museum, the 'Meet Me' storytelling sessions are free between 11am and 4pm, with Romans on Tuesday 11 August and Mary Anning on Tuesday 18 August and Friday 21 August. And if you're still in the mood for something after dark, Day Fever is holding a silent disco in the gardens on Friday 21 August, doors at 6.30pm, general admission £20 plus booking fees and over 18s only, though that one isn't a York Museums Trust event, so you'll want to go through GlassWerk or Eventim for it.