Fermyn Woods Country Park: The Realm of the Purple Emperor

By Carol Leather

Fermyn Woods Country Park was not going to beat us, not for a third time. It was my birthday, and another drive home with nothing to show for it would have been unbearable.

A single photo of a purple wing kept replaying behind my eyelids. Every time I blinked I saw it again, like a promise.

We drove past the main gate, left the café and the shrieks from the playground behind us, and followed the directions my friend had given me. He said it low and conspiratorial:

Perhaps we took him a little too literally. It was 7:30 in the morning when we arrived, with no other cars in sight and, of course, no purple butterflies either.

Facing the Butterfly Paparazzi

Fermyn Woods is a lovely park, with accessible trails and quiet ponds. On our first few visits, though, I felt that familiar sense of being on the outside looking in.

It peaked when we turned a corner and saw them: a huddle of people with enormous lenses, all pointed at the ground, snapping away. I know how intimidating that scene looks when you are starting out. It can feel like a private club you were never invited to join.

Here is the secret I have learned. That group is a gift. They are a giant, flashing signpost to something worth seeing, and on that day they were pointing to the elusive Purple Emperor.

Before we meet His Majesty, though, there is a more common challenge to master first. Getting it right is where your confidence starts.

A Shift in Focus

My heart sank. A Red Kite was circling right above me, its forked tail unmistakable against the bright sky. I raised the camera, and every frame came back a dark, frustrating blob.

The camera had tried to balance that bright sky and turned a magnificent bird into a silhouette. It is a classic beginner's problem, and it used to ruin my day.

That is the moment it clicks. Suddenly you are not fighting the camera, you are directing it. The rich colour comes back into the feathers, and so does the fierce look in the eye. You are not only taking a picture, you are keeping a moment of wildness, and that feeling is the first real step towards confidence.

An Audience with the Emperor

Now, back to that butterfly. The Purple Emperor is the second largest butterfly in England, and famously hard to find. For years I searched without success. The reason was simple: I was looking in the wrong places.

This is the kind of insider knowledge that changes everything. You might see the big lenses and assume you need one too. I used to think that. The truth is that the most important tool is knowing where to look.

So forget the sweet-smelling flowers. Purple Emperors prefer salty, messy patches, the damp and grubby spots most people step around. The males come down from the oak canopy for the minerals in mud, sap and animal dung. It is delightfully unglamorous, and it is the whole secret.

My first ever Purple Emperor, sipping from a muddy puddle at Fermyn Woods

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On my birthday one July, that knowledge finally paid off. After hours of walking we were heading back to the car when we saw the huddle of photographers again. And there it was: a male Purple Emperor, sipping at a muddy puddle. I dropped to the ground and joined the quiet, happy crowd.

I had no pro lens, and it did not matter. I took a record shot I will treasure, that flash of purple caught on the wing. I was thoroughly bitten by the bug.

A year later I went back, with more confidence this time. I found one myself, perched on a bush. As I set up, a Silver-Washed Fritillary zoomed in and chased the Emperor off its perch. Catching that whole dramatic scene was a thrill like no other.

A Silver-Washed Fritillary approaches the Purple Emperor

The Emperor departs, chased off by the Fritillary

Later I sprawled on the ground beside another and finally took a shot I was genuinely proud of.

Taken with the camera flat on the ground

A male Purple Emperor flashing the iridescent purple on his upper wing

The feeling is wonderful, and it is well within your reach. The key is not being a professional. It is being curious enough to learn one odd little habit of the butterfly.

From Observer to Explorer

My husband had to drag me away in the end, or I would have stayed all day. I stood up to leave and was already plotting my return before we reached the car park.

That is the real change. You go from feeling let down by what you did not see, to feeling a steady, thrilling pull towards whatever you might find next. The eerie mewing of a Red Kite becomes a cue to lift the camera. A muddy puddle, or a pile of dung, becomes a place of possibility.

The real trophy is not the perfect photo, or a long list of species. It is the quiet confidence that comes from understanding the world around you, the shift from outsider to being in on the secret. That is a feeling you carry with you on every walk, for the rest of your life.

Visiting Fermyn Woods Country Park: Parking, Trails and Map

Ready to plan your own visit? Here is what you need to know before you go.

Getting there and parking

Fermyn Woods Country Park sits beside Brigstock, near Corby in north Northamptonshire, signposted off the A6116. There is a main car park by the visitor café and the playground, which is where most maps will bring you. For the Purple Emperor oaks, follow the lane on past the main gate, where it narrows into a dark, tree-lined tunnel, to the small parking area by the second gate on the right. That spot fills quickly on warm July mornings, so arrive early.

The trails

Three waymarked routes start from the visitor centre, including the fully accessible Skylark Nature Trail. Don't be afraid to wander off them. The best discoveries often come when you chart your own course.

The butterflies

Besides the Purple Emperor, which is at its best in July, the path behind the visitor café is a hotspot for summer butterflies: Silver-Washed Fritillary, Marbled White, Comma, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Small Skipper and Common Blue. If you want to come home with better shots of them, see my butterfly photography tips.

The dragonflies

The ponds at Fermyn Woods are small, but they pull in dragonflies and damselflies. On a sunny day, sit quietly by the edge and watch for the jewel-flash of an Emerald Damselfly or a Broad-Bodied Chaser. There are more on my dragonfly photography page.

Emerald Damselfly

Broad-Bodied Chaser

Great Crested Newts

Take the path near the Visitor Centre, then the first left, to a small pool that is home to these protected newts. It took me over an hour to get a decent photo on my first attempt.

Birds and deer

Listen for the calls of Red Kites and Common Buzzards overhead. If you are very quiet and very lucky, you might meet the fallow deer that drift through the woods at dawn and dusk.

I've spent over 30 years walking and photographing UK wildlife, with work featured in Canon EOS Magazine and a Wildlife Trusts calendar. I still learn something new on most outings.

This site is my field notebook full of photo tips, help on identifying what you see, and how to decide where to walk.