Lymington
A picturesque coastal town with an attractive main street, lovely Georgian buildings and a cobbled quay. Once an important centre for the production of salt, it is best known today as a departure point for passenger and car ferries to the Isle of Wight. During the 18th-c it became a popular bathing resort and is now a peaceful holiday centre with a good sheltered harbour packed with yachts and sailing boats. A popular destination since Victorian times, it boasts good clean air and access to numerous water sports, including a sea water swimming baths.
Lymington Harbour © Christine Matthews (CC2)
The harbour once rivalled that Portsmouth and Southampton. Although a lot less developed, it is still a busy ferry terminal to and from Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
The attractive quayside is lined with fashionable restaurants, boutiques and antiques shops. Rising up from the harbour, the cobbled Quay Street leads up to a handsome town centre. A pleasant area with white-washed cottages and attractive Georgian houses, lining a broad High Street. Most of the local buildings date back to the early 18th and 19th century. The 17/18th century grey-stone parish church of St Thomas has a huge tower topped by an exotic 18th-c cupola.
In Bath Road stands the Press Gang Cottage, a former inn and the headquarters of a notorious 18th-c press gang. The old Harbour Master's Office here was once a bathhouse.
The town once grew rich from its saltworks, known as "salterns", which operated right up to the 19th-c. The salt marshes that stretch along the coast to Pennington are now a nature reserve and bird sanctuary. The long-distance 'Solent Way' footpath runs along the shore above the marshes, providing splendid views out to sea.
The story of the region's salt industry and maritime history is told in the St Barbe Museum on New Street, with exhibits dating back to Saxon times. The museum also hosts a modern art gallery, displaying contemporary and visiting artworks from other important galleries around the country.
Places of Interest to Visit near Lymington
Just north of the town is an ancient Iron Age earthwork with triple rampart called Buckland Rings. A little way up river is the a pretty village of Boldre, where its 17th-c church contains a memorial to the 1,418 strong crew of HMS hood, which was sank by the Bismark in 1941. Further inland (along the A337) stands Lyndhurst, the capital of the New Forest, complete with charming shops, galleries and teashops.
Hurst Castle
To the south, sticking out on a promontory beyond the marshes, is Hurst Castle. A coastal fort built in 1544 by Henry VIII to defend the Solent from French incursions. It was designed with a series of low cylindrical towers, arranged in trefoil pattern around a central tower. Charles I was briefly held here in 1648, after being taken from the Isle of Wight to face trial and execution in London. The site was also closely involved in the smuggling trade during the 17th and 18th centuries. The fortress was restored in the 19th-c and is open to the public.
Location: Milford on Sea, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 0TP
Website: English Heritage
Buckler's Hard Village & Maritime Museum
A few miles east on the banks of the Beaulieu River is Buckler's Hard. A reconstructed historic and picturesque shipbuilding village where ships from Nelson's fleet were once built.
Location: Buckler's Hard, New Forest, Hampshire SO42 7XB
Website: Website
Map of Lymington
South East England
