EXPLORATION of the countryside around them was a real lesson of discovery for pupils of Tavistock Primary School recently and with the bright spring sunshine they could not have picked a better day to enjoy their field trip. The youngsters took to the moors to follow up their class work with close up and 'hands on' experience of the local landscape and its geology. The children were joined by Dartmoor Park Ranger Paul Glanville, who revealed some of the ancient secrets of the moor. They were encouraged to look at the granite and the different colours, identifying the quartz, mica and feldspar. Teacher Richard Molesworth helped the children make sketches of their surroundings. The youngsters enjoyed a picnic lunch at Bellever Woods, explored the Clapper Bridge over the East Dart River and walked to Bellever Tor to look at the pine tree forests and the open scrub lands before reaching Staple Tor. Russell Bayliss, a parent school governor and who helped on the trip, said: 'Paul was an inspiration as he showed the chlldren the clues that our ancestors left behind that tell us how they cut, shaped and removed the granite from the moor. 'The children also had great fun lookng for signs for how the granite rocks were cut.'