Exhibition showcases Swaledale in visual record of rural community

IT HAS inspired and captivated millions of visitors to some of Yorkshire’s finest scenery, from fell walkers and ramblers to the famous artist JMW Turner.

Now the beauty of Swaledale is being showcased in a new exhibition of photographs, watercolours and drawings centred on the village of Marske near Richmond.

The collection of images, called Small Dale World – A Village in View, has been created by the writer and photographer David Morgan Rees.

The 80-year-old has devoted much of his time in recent years to documenting the everyday life of Marske, where he had a cottage for more than three decades.

He said: “My images in this exhibition are my own way of expressing the depth of my feelings for the local landscape, activities and atmosphere of this very special place.

“I also felt it was very important to make a comprehensive visual record of a rural community at a particular period in the late 20th century.

“My years spent in a small cottage just outside the village have been perhaps the happiest and most fulfilling part of my life.”

The exhibition is being staged at the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes from Saturday until March 28.

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