A CALENDAR which features pictures of the South West looking its radiant best taken from Instagram profiles has been launched.

The idea to make a calendar purely from pictures shared by users of the social media platform was that of Jess Jeary, who runs her own marketing company based in Holt, called Bowline.

When Mrs Jeary moved to the village two years ago after living in London for seven years, she started up an Instagram account to portray the beauty of the South West.

“I started using the motto ‘South West is best’ when I moved back from London and decided to turn it into an Instagram feed called SWisBest,” said the 32-year-old.

“I started posting pictures with the hashtag #SWisBEST and people started to upload their own images from across the six counties that make up the South West.

“After six months, beautiful images were being posted daily and the account now has 25,000 followers, with nearly 200,000 images shared in total, which is amazing.”

The calendar, which can be bought online and in various shops across Wiltshire and further afield for £9.99, features a total of 36 photographs taken by both professional and amateur photographers.

Photographs of Castle Combe, Westbury White Horse and Stourhead are all included in the calendar and there is also a page dedicated to some of Bristol’s most iconic sites, as well as photographs from Gloucestershire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

Mrs Jeary, who was born in Devizes, added that she saw the area in a completely new light after she returned with her partner from the capital city.

She said: “There are so many beautiful locations in Wiltshire and the rest of the South West which people sometimes forget about.

“Coming to live in Holt after seven years in London gave us the opportunity to rediscover the area with fresh eyes, which is what prompted me to start the Instagram account up.

“Through other people posting their own pictures of the South West we have also discovered lots of other beautiful areas.”

Profits from the sales of the calendars will be donated to a charity chosen by followers of the Instagram account.

Mrs Jeary was assisted by Georgia Adsett, who also works at Bowline.

Visit www.southwestisbest.co.uk for more information