TAVISTOCK Festival opened last weekend with a packed schedule of events including the 8th Russell Lecture at The Wharf Arts Centre on Sunday night, given by the festival president and TV history writer and presenter Adam Hart-Davis.

The lecture gave a fascinating look at the history of the Eddystone Lighthouses from the first early Winstanley light erected in 1696 to the present day massive Douglass lighthouse, towering over 160 feet high which first shone its bright beam over the English Channel in 1882.

Adam also described why Smeaton's tower was moved to its landmark site on Plymouth Hoe in the latter half of the 19th century.

l Pictured with festival president Adam Hart-Davis is festival chairman Christopher Kirwin. The festival runs through the rest of March and April and programmes are available throughout the town.