Dartmoor National Park presents exhibition of moorland life

An exhibition devoted to the people who make up Dartmoor’s rich tapestry of life will open at Princetown Visitor Centre in January 2020.

The visitor centre is hosting award-winning photographer Dianne Jayne Giles’s exhibition 'Working Life on Dartmoor' from 8 January until 25 March.

The exhibition showcases photographs captured in black and white and celebrates the people who live in, work in, and care for, this special landscape.

Rebecca Martin, Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Visitor Services Manager, said: “This is the first time Dianne Giles has exhibited in our visitor centre. Her personal interpretations of Dartmoor’s characters are expressive and evocative and will appeal to residents and visitors alike. We are pleased to be able to share her work and look forward to welcoming Dianne to Princetown Visitor Centre.”

Dianne started her photography career in 2014. In 2016 her abstract images were featured in Practical Photography magazine and she won a BBC Countryfile competition for an image to be featured in their 2016 calendar.

Her work has also featured in other publications and more recently she was invited to exhibit at Home Farm Café, Parke, near Bovey Tracey.

Dianne Giles said: “I am thrilled to be exhibiting at Dartmoor National Park’s Visitor Centre in Princetown. I spent many happy days meeting lots of Dartmoor folk going about their work and I hope the images provide a glimpse into the world and characters of the working people of Dartmoor.”

First designated in 1951 Dartmoor National Park is the largest and highest upland in southern Britain. It is of international importance for its Bronze Age archaeology, blanket bogs, upland heaths, upland oak woods and cave systems, and of national importance for its valley mires, Rhôs pasture and grass moor.

It is home to a wide variety of wildlife and habitats and is particularly noted for rare lichens, butterflies and other insects, some of which are so rare they are only found on Dartmoor.

Dartmoor National Park Authority works with communities, local authorities, businesses and other organisations to look after this special landscape and promote its conservation and enjoyment.

As well as being staffed by friendly, knowledgeable staff, who can help people make the best of their outing, the centres are stocked with maps, books and leaflets, and quality gifts from The Dartmoor Range.

Princetown is the flagship visitor centre. Built between 1809 and 1810 it served as quarters for officers guarding prisoners at Dartmoor Prison before it was converted into a hotel. Famously, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stayed there when he wrote the Sherlock Holmes adventure Hound of the Baskervilles.

It has been a visitor centre since the early 1990s and hosts a variety of exhibitions and displays as well as a children’s discovery zone. The spectacular former ballroom hosts a rolling exhibition programme which is where you’ll find Dianne’s work.