VISITING KNEPP

Arrangements for Purple Emperor visitors are the same as last year. I.e. there is a designated Purple Emperor Walk, marked out by purple ribbons and depicted on a PE Walk map (available from Fri June 18th). There is a small charge for this (I don't know what yet).

As last year, we have our own Purple Emperor Carpark. Drive all the way down the concrete track that leads to New Barn Farm, from the north-west end of Dial Post, and then drive through the automatic wooden five-bar gate at the end. The PE Carpark is on your immediate right. SatNav code is RH13 8NN. Please note that the track is carrying a lot of traffic and walkers, including many children. 

Please pay and pick up a walks leaflet from the Farm Shop in the Go Down (back out of the automatic gate and immediate right).

Please note that the butterfly has scarcely started yet (one brief male in four hours in perfect weather on Mon June 15th).


The designated route takes you through most of the best areas. It links in with other permissive paths, which you are most welcome to use. Please don't go off piste, as there's a lot of research going on and two film crews who are filming PEs (for the long-overdue big budget BBC special on British Wildlife).


Knepp is receiving a lot of visitors, who have come to see the nesting White Storks. They, and we, are being asked to keep to designated routes. The storks are nesting in an area only lightly used by Emperors (at 7 O'Clock along the White Route).

One repercussion of the visitor numbers is that any Emperor that descends to the ground is likely to get flushed up within minutes, or within seconds at weekends. If you want photos of Emperors on the ground, go to Fermyn Woods or Chiddingfold Forest.  

We are being asked not to park along the Countryman Lane verges, due to complaints from locals. If you do, then please take extra care not to block field and driveway entrances, 

 Enjoy your Emperors, they could be very good indeed this year!