Wiltshire in pics: Magical murals and an Easter donkey

An intricate mural of orange and yellow flowers cut across by a white branch on the side of a municipal building. A flower bed with a tree and shrubs is visible in the foreground. Image source, Swindon Borough Council
Image caption,

Graffiti artist HazardOne created this mural to spruce up Swindon's former Debenhams building

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The perfect blue skies may have faded away but everyone seemed to be feeling the joy of spring ahead of the Easter weekend.

As the county bursts into bloom, Swindon is getting in on the action with a brand new mural from graffiti artist HazardOne on the side of the old Debenhams building.

Her vibrant yellow and orange blooms are part of work to rejuvenate the town centre.

Elsewhere, Longleat has welcomed three new north African Fennec fox cubs, while staff at the stately home have embarked on an enormous spring clean of the building's 128 rooms.

A group of people walk down the street with a man in a green robe, holding a wooden cross leads it, along with a donkey, which is being held by a red lead a woman is holding.Image source, Getty Images

Palm Sunday: A donkey from the rescue charity Kelly's Donkeys joined the procession from Salisbury Cathedral on 13 April.

Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week in Western Christianity and falls on the Sunday before Easter.

A view of Stonehenge taken from the ground. Yellow flowers are visible at the base of one of the stones.Image source, English Heritage

Spring to life: Stonehenge may be ancient but the stones are still a haven of life, with spring flowers blooming at their base.

Three tan Fennec fox cubs being held by someone wearing blue surgical gloves. Only the hands are visible.Image source, Tom Anders/Longleat

Bundles of joy: These three Fennec fox kits - the world's smallest fox species - were born at Longleat, and were they only litter of their species born in the UK this year.

They are now being hand-reared by keepers because their mother, Zuri, does not produce enough milk to feed all of them.

The dining room in an ornate stately home. A large table is laid for dinner, and the walls are hung with portraits and mirrors. There are heavy curtains at the windows and two women are dismantling antique chairs to clean them.Image source, Longleat

Elbow grease: Longleat's conservation team are undertaking a thorough deep clean of the stately home's rooms and artefacts - delving into the nooks and crannies that can harbour pests such as clothes, moths and silverfish.

Staff have the task of cleaning more than 300 windows, hundreds of ceramic pieces, glass and silverware, as well as 44,000 books and a 300-year-old chandelier.

The Northern Lights in a starry, purple sky above some houses and trees.Image source, BBC Weather Watchers / Tedder

Cosmic sparkles: The Northern Lights graced the skies of the West Country once again this week, putting on a spectacular display.

This image was captured over homes in Salisbury.

A large group of people pose for a photograph in front of a small pond. A man in the centre of a picture wears bishop's cope and hat and is holding a staff. Image source, All Saints Church
The exterior of an 11th century church with a square tower and stained glass windows. A notice board in the foreground reads "All Saints Church". Image source, Lindsay Shaw

Easter revival: The congregation of All Saints Church in Lydiard Millicent returned to the 11th-century church on Palm Sunday nine months after it closed for renovations including works to its roof, flooring and organ and installation of a new kitchen.

The service was led by Rt Revd Neil Warwick, the Bishop of Swindon, and after blessing the church, he gathered the congregation to give thanks for the new church pond.

A silhouette of Salisbury Cathedral at sunrise, which is reflected in the water. The sky is pink and yellow, a waterway reflecting the light in in the foreground. There is also the silhouette of trees and vegetation.   Image source, Daniel Cook

Throwback snap: While the rest of the county was enjoying the warmer weather, Salisbury Cathedral shared a stunning photograph of the building at sunrise taken on a crisp winter morning.

The cathedral's famous silhouette is perfectly mirrored in the water at the bottom of the shot.

A stuffed gharial on a table in a workshop. Behind it are stacks of boxes on shelves. Image source, Swindon Borough Council

Swindon Croc returns: A taxidermy gharial, also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile, gifted to Swindon Borough Council in the 1930s, is soon to be on display at Museum and Art Swindon after much vital restoration work, alongside information about the threats facing the species.

Councillor Marina Strinkovsky said the critically endangered animal had "a special place in the hearts of Swindonians", but added that "also has a complex history, and we want to depict its place in the natural world and the British past".

A line of tractors parked in a town square. One is towing a sign reading "My grandfathers 1941 war-time American tractor, USA supplied to support a hungry Great Britain, Do not forget our food security, support your British farmers, scrap the family farm tax. Image source, Farmers to Action

Farmer fury: Farmers parked their tractors in Salisbury town centre in protest at changes to inheritance tax law around farming land.

Organised by campaign group Farmers to Action, it says the changes will spell the end of many family farms already struggling to survive.

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