Bucknell Wood

Location - North of Silverstone

Where to park - Main car park SP66004501 (Parking 1 on map), alternative parking at the end of a green lane at SP65844475 (Parking 2 on map)

Parking Charge - No

Notable species - Wood White, Purple Hairstreak, White-letter Hairstreak, Purple Emperor, White Admiral, Silver-washed Fritillary (especially good for the form valezina).

Managed by Forestry England Bucknell Wood is a fantastic site to look for Wood Whites and is also one of the most reliable places in the county to see the beautiful Silver-washed Fritillary form valezina. There are two places to park. The northern car park (marked as “Parking 1”) on the above map is a pull-in right by one of the woodland access gates and the southern car park (marked as “Parking 2”) on the above map is down the end of a short green lane which brings you to another access gate. You can follow the paths that run west into the woodland from either of these car parks. Wood Whites and Silver-washed Fritillaries can fly in good numbers along these rides and keep an eye out for Purple Emperors and White Admirals too. Eventually, these rides come to a crossroads with an obvious hard track running north to south between them and following this allows you to walk between the rides and make a nice circular route through the wood. It is definitely worth exploring the other adjacent rides away from these main tracks as butterflies can be found throughout the woodland. The southern crossroads can be a very good area to look for Purple Emperors during their flight period.

Another good area to look at when visiting Bucknell Wood is a clearing known as the “Old Car Park”. The actual car park has long since closed but it is now a very productive woodland clearing. The easiest way to find it is from the southern car park (“Parking 2”). When here don’t forget to take a stroll along the lane towards the road as this can be a good place to look for White-letter Hairstreaks due to the amount of Elm in the area. In the car park rather than take the path by the gate heading due west along the hard track take the path by the gate on the right. This takes you through a short path of woodland before eventually leading out into the “Old Car Park” clearing. The northern and western sides of this clearing are lined with brambles and ferns and can have an abundance of butterflies. It is one of the best places in the county for Silver-washed Fritillaries and White Admirals readily come to nectar here as well. Keep an eye on the canopies of the large Oaks to look for Purple Hairstreaks which can often come down low nectar to the Bramble flowers too.

Please note that trampling can be an issue in this area so please try and be mindful of the vegetation if visiting.