What do bees and lady’s slippers have in common?
They are the common names of some of the pressed orchids from the 1800s currently on display at Cliffe Castle!
Explore a selection of Bradford District Museums & Galleries’ rare and extinct orchid specimens.
These pressed flowers a part of the nationally important herbarium held at Cliffe Castle, which contains over 60,0000 specimens collected by Leeds-born botanists F. A. Lees (1847- 1921) and W. A. Sledge (1904 -1991). The display explores local collectors and how the specimens collected during the Orchidomania, the Victorian plant-collecting craze, are now being used around the world in plant conservation research.
Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Friday: 10am – 4pm
Saturday – Sunday: 11am – 4pm
All Bank Holiday Opening Times: 11:00 – 4:00 except Bolling Hall
All sites closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday
There is a small amount of free parking on Spring Gardens Lane and within the museum car park. Please note this allows for 3 hours parking, with no return within 2 hours. These parking places are managed by Bradford Council Parking Services.
There are two Blue Badge parking spaces down the slope from the museum car park which are offered on a first come first served basis. The gates to these car park spaces close at 4.30pm”
Approximately 12-25 minutes walk from the railway station, 6-15 minutes walk from the bus station. Buses (for example Bradford to Skipton) pass the lower main gates. The 903 bus service operates from Keighley Bus Station and serves Cliffe Castle on a limited basis.
11 April 2026 11:00 am – 11 April 2026 3:00 pm
28 March 2026 11:00 am – 28 March 2026 3:00 pm
26 April 2026 11:00 am – 26 April 2026 3:00 pm
9 May 2026 – 1 November 2026
