Balmy summer days are the best time to watch butterflies play out their brief but action packed lives.
Matthew Oates, our butterfly expert, has selected 20 family-friendly countryside locations where you can watch them as they feed, fly and create the next generation.
Cambridgeshire
Anglesey Abbey
Several species can be found amongst the grasses in late summer, nowhere else has such a varied display.
Anglesey is one of the best places for butterflies in Cambridgeshire. With its large areas of natural grassland, several butterflies like to breed, such as the common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Copper, Small Skipper, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Ringlet and Speckled Wood.
Standard garden butterflies occur in numbers, such as the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock. July and August are the best months to see the grassland butterflies (Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Skipper etc) in flight, and the Small Copper and Common Blue are at their peak.
Plan your visit:
Anglesey Abbey
Cumbria
Arnside Knott
Look out for the Scotch Argus, dusky black with red border spots, and the High Brown Fritillary, big, bold and fast flying.
The Scotch Argus abounds on the top of the Knott during the end of July and the beginning of August. You'll find it bumbling about in the blue moor grass and if you see one, you're sure to see many. Coax this timid butterfly with a spray of buddleia - which they will cover.
The High Brown Fritillary is not as numerous as the Scotch Argus and harder to find. Head for Heathwaite, to west of the Knott, and Pig Field and Top Glade where you can find it feeding on the flowers of common knapweed.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Arnside Knott (external website)
Car park above Larch Grove and in Arnside village
Sizergh
For fans of the Fritillaries, the richly diverse garden at Sizergh has them in abundance.
Situated in one of the best areas in Britain for fritillaries, attracting in Pearl-bordered Fritillary (May), Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (June), Dark-green Fritillary and even High Brown Fritillary (both July) on occasion.
The standard garden butterflies are also frequent, along with Common Blue.
Plan your visit:
Sizergh
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Devon
Ashclyst Forest
In July and August, Ashclyst turns in to a butterfly forest teeming with White Admirals, Silver-Washed Fritillaries and Purple Hairstreaks.
The White Admiral, in reality more black than white, is known for its graceful, agile flight. It is a joy to watch as it nimbly follows the contours of tree foliage without clipping a leaf. In July you will find it along Ashclyst's rides and glades, feeding on bramble and thistle flowers. Look also on honeysuckle tangles, where the females lay their eggs.
The Silver-Washed Fritillary is the 'happiness' butterfly. It has as much bounce as Tigger and loves the July and August sunshine. Wear bright orange or red to attract this inquisitive creature; it will want to meet you. In July, you might only glimpse the grey underside of Purple Hairstreaks, as they fly high up in the tops of oaks and ashes. They're at their most active in the early evening, taking to the air for elaborate spiralling courtship flights.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Ashclyst Forest (external site)
Four car parks on road running north-south through the Forest
Heddon Valley
It's the fritillaries that shine in this wooded valley: the High Brown, the Dark Green and the Silver-Washed.
Heddon's bracken slopes are breeding and feeding ground for the High Brown, Dark Green and Silver-Washed Fritillaries in July (and August for the Silver-Washed). Look for them flying along the path on the western side of the stream leading to Heddon's Mouth and on slopes below Trentishoe village.
To tell the three apart, look at their undersides as they feed on thistles and brambles. The clues are in the names: brown (with white and red spots) for the rarer High Brown, green (with white spots) for the Dark Green, and silver for the Silver-Washed.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Heddon Valley (external website)
Car Park at Hunter's Inn
Coleton Fishacre Garden
This luxuriant garden is home to the beautiful Painted Lady and very rarely the Monarch butterfly, which dwarfs other species found in Britain.
This definitive wildlife garden, in a sheltered combe on the Devon coast near Dartmouth, is seriously good for butterflies in August and September.
The migrant Clouded Yellow, Red Admiral and Painted Lady are frequent, Common Blue and Marbled White breed in the grassland, Wall Brown patrols the banks, and the common butterflies are everywhere. Rare vagrant butterflies such as the Monarch can appear here.
Plan your visit:
Coleton Fishacre Garden
Greenway
The citrus hues of the Clouded Yellow and distinctive markings of the Red Admiral fluttering around this wild estate is something special.
Agatha Christie's family collected butterflies and moths here. Good for migrants like Clouded Yellow, Painted Lady and Red Admiral in high summer.
Silver-Washed Fritillary visit in July and August, and the rare day-flying Jersey Tiger moth is regularly seen in August.
Plan your visit:
Greenway
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Gloucestershire
Rodborough Common
It's the iridescent azure beauty of the Adonis Blue to watch out for at Rodborough, back on the Common after 40 years.
The rediscovery of the Adonis Blue at Rodborough is one of our recent success stories, testimony to the managed grazing of the Common by the National Trust in partnership with the commoners since 1999. A belted Galloway cattle herd keeps the grass at just the right length for the Adonis to flourish, as they are doing in abundance.
Dark Green Fritillaries patrol the west and east facing slopes of the Common, where they breed on the hairy violet that flowers in the long grass and feed on knapweed and thistles. Look for their big, fast shapes in ones and twos, rather than larger groups. The Chalkhill Blue, on the west facing flanks, and Marbled White are two more to spot.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Rodborough Common (external website)
Parking areas on the Common
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Hampshire
Mottisfont
The dusty blues of the Holly Blue and dramatic markings of the Purple Hairstreak can be found in the Walled gardens of this formal medieval priory.
Everything imaginable turns up here as the Romsey area is excellent for butterflies.
Purple Hairstreak and Holly Blue breed in the garden, and July woodland butterflies like the Silver-Washed Fritillary and White Admiral wander in regularly.
Plan your visit:
Mottisfont
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Northern Ireland
Murlough National Nature Reserve
This large dune, set to the impressive backdrop of the Mourne Mountains, is awash with butterflies in the summer.
There are plenty of Dark Green Fritillaries, Common Blues, Graylings and Small Coppers to catch the eye as they weave in and out of the sand dunes, feeding on the heather.
The Small Copper is a fiery dart of a butterfly. A territorial thug, males do not take kindly to other butterflies or insects that invade their air space. Look out for them throughout July, August and September as they bask on the ground awaiting a female to come their way.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Murlough NNR (external website)
Car park at access point next to A24
Isle of Wight
Afton, Compton & Brook Downs
Blue is the hue, as the sky-blue Chalkhill and electric-azure Adonis Blues set the Downs aglow for a few fleeting weeks in July and August.
Visit on the right day, and the short turf on this mile and a half long stretch of downland will shimmer before your eyes with Chalkhill and Adonis Blues. The Chalkhill peaks first, at its best at the beginning of August, with the Adonis following in the middle of the month. They live only days, so savour them while you can.
Also arresting are the golden, flashing wings of the Clouded Yellow. The males patrol the lower south-facing slopes of the Downs in August looking for mates. The Dark Green Fritillary flits about the gorse glades on the top of the Downs from July into mid-August. And try the bare ground of Brook Quarry for the Grayling: grey-brown and an expert in camouflage.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Afton, Compton & Brook Downs (external website)
National Trust car park at Afton Down
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Kent
Sissinghurst
This truly stunning garden is a perfect environment for butterflies and dragonflies who feed off the blossoms.
Sissinghurst is one of the best gardens in the world, and is also seriously good for butterflies and dragonflies. Grassland butterflies like Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown breed in the surrounding paddocks and wander into the garden for nectar and shelter during July and August.
Woodland butterflies like the Speckled Wood, White Admiral and Silver-Washed Fritillary bumble in from the nearby woods.
Plan your visit:
Sissinghurst
Northumberland
Cragside
These rocky gardens high above the Debdon Burn are full of Orange Tips, Common Blues and Small Skippers in the months of July and August.
An excellent butterfly site, with plenty of nectar and shelter. All the standard garden butterflies occur, along with breeding populations of Common Blue, Small Copper, Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Ringlet, Wall Brown and Small Skipper.
This garden is at its best for butterflies in July and August. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary wanders in from time to time in June. Also good for day-flying moths, including the Chimney Sweeper.
Plan your visit:
Cragside
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Somerset
Tyntesfield
The intricately patterned Marbled White contrasts with the earthy tones of the Brown Argus and Ringlet on this impressive Victorian estate.
Brown Argus breeds on Common Rockrose and Common Blue on Birdsfoot Trefoil in the lawns, both fly in June and August.
In July, Marbled White and Ringlet are regularly seen, along with the common nettle-feeding and garden butterflies.
Plan your visit:
Tyntesfield
Surrey
Bookham Common
Bookham plays host to the regal Purple Emperor, the UK's second biggest butterfly. It takes a little guile to track them down but it's worth it.
The key is knowing how, when and where to spot this elusive, tree top butterfly. In mid-July, look for the bright, imperial-purple males on the gravel or tarmac rides between 11am and 12pm, when they'll be lethargic after pursuing the duller, brown females. They like pungent smells and a piece of Danish blue cheese may well lure one.
The males gather in the afternoon in sheltered groups of trees to show off, squabble between themselves and chase off anything that interferes - including wood pigeons and herons. Look on the Tall Turkey Oak at Mark Oak, and on the hornbeam along the path by Hill Farm to catch their high speed, high up performances - one of the best shows on Earth.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Bookham Common (external site)
Three car parks
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Denbies Hillside, the North Downs
This is the place to see the dazzling Adonis and Chalkhill Blues, so dense in numbers you have to watch each step.
For the biggest wow factor, head for the Big Field. This, the largest area of grassland on the Hillside, is the focal point for Denbies' colour explosion of the Adonis and Chalkhill Blues in July and August. There's a certain amount of luck in picking the right day, but if you do you will be rewarded by the sight of thousands of butterflies.
A highly successful grazing scheme from the National Trust uses ponies to keep Denbies' grass at just the right height for horseshoe vetch, the only plant which the Adonis and Chalkhill breed on. The Big Field is yellow with its flowers during July.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Denbies Hillside (external website)
Car park at Denbies Hillside
Sussex
Cissbury Ring, South Downs
Look out for three showstoppers on Cissbury Ring's downland: the Chalkhill Blue, Dark Green Fritillary and the Marbled White.
Horseshoe vetch, growing around Cissbury's Neolithic flint mines, is the lure for the Chalkhill Blue. Watch for the metallic sheen of the male's sky-blue wings as they seek out the dowdier females in the short turf in August.
It will be easy to spot the Dark Green Fritillary. Large, fast and orange, it bumbles all over the Ring, but particularly in the upper grassland from July into mid-August. And it's hard to mistake the striking Marbled White, which appears at the end of July. This butterfly is black and white, bold and bubbly.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Cissbury Ring (external website)
Car park in Findon Valley
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Wales
Whiteford Burrows, Gower Peninsula, Swansea
Small is beautiful at Whiteford where the dainty Common and Small Blues live in this expanse of dunes.
Common Blues live up to their name at Whiteford, you are sure to see plenty of them flitting among the sand dunes. The dunes are also home to the Small Blue, the UK's smallest species, who feed on the clustered yellow flowers of kidney vetch, their only food source.
Also keep your eyes out for Dark Green Fritillaries, and for Graylings, who will be in attendance from the end of June through to mid-September.
Plan your visit:
Multimap of Whiteford Burrows (external website)
Informal parking in farmer's field
Warwickshire
Upton House
A great August butterfly garden populated by common butterflies, such as the Tortoiseshell and Peacock.
The terrace gardens have many good butterfly nectar plants – buddleias and many types of Aster – and are great for late summer butterflies. Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Red Admiral and Painted Lady are all frequent, along with occasional Hummingbird Hawk moth.
Small Copper breeds on sheep’s sorrel in the flower beds. The kitchen garden is organic and great for Cabbage Whites!
Plan your visit:
Upton House
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