Wiltshire in pictures: Sunshine and Shrove Tuesday

Sunshine and blue skies have welcomed in March in Wiltshire where a former dairy farm is being turned into a chalk grassland nature reserve

The sun came out in Wiltshire this week and the county has welcomed rare wildlife and also pancakes and spring re-openings.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Wiltshire Council have come together to start turning a farm into a nature reserve.

It is hoped Roundbarrow Farm near Firsdown in Wiltshire should attract "chalk-loving blooms, bees, butterflies and birds".

Flipping fun: Shrove Tuesday led to some racing in the centre of Salisbury. Raising money for the local foodbank, people competed to win the Golden Frying Pan in the pancake race.

More pancakes: Salisbury Cathedral's trainee choristers also practiced flipping pancakes inside the cloisters of the medieval building.

Encouraging future stars: businesses and organisations from around the county raised £80,400 to help local sports stars at the Wiltshire Business and Sports Gala Dinner.

Austen influence: Stourhead House near Warminster reopens this weekend and has a new exhibition which includes the costume worn by Matthew Macfadyen in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice and a replica dress worn by Kiera Knightley from the same film.

Sparks of spring: Flowers are poking through as winter fades. Crocuses at Swindon's Old Town Gardens are among the colourful displays.

Foodbank fundraiser: The sale of craft items made by care home residents, donated gifts and having a garden party has raised nearly £1,500 for Salisbury's foodbank. Residents and team members at Braemar Lodge in the city chose it as their main charity for the past year.

Wildlife spotting: Excitement at Longleat Safari Park this week was caused by the estate's own wildlife rather than the safari animals. A rare hazel dormouse was caught on camera finding food.

More than words: An exhibition at Wiltshire Council's headquarters in Trowbridge of more than 100 artworks showed some of the feelings of domestic abuse survivors.

Put together with the help of several organisations working in the county using art therapy, it include paintings, drawings and poems.