Lymington is a harbour town on the Solent, with the New Forest close by and the Wightlink ferry to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.
Lymington is a harbour town on the Solent, with the New Forest close by. Wightlink runs its Lymington to Yarmouth ferry route to the Isle of Wight, and its website sets out the route and timetables. Visitors can also use the council's coastal parking list to find car parks near the water. The council's website lists its car parks by name and postcode.
Lymington Town station, on Mill Lane, is managed by South Western Railway. It has step free access to all platforms, but no lifts. New Forest District Council operates more than 50 public car parks across the district, with nearly 1,500 short stay spaces, over 4,500 long stay spaces and over 250 disabled spaces. Drivers can pay with a pay and display ticket, a parking clock or RingGo. Check the council's car park pages for the specific car park and its charges before you travel. The council also publishes a separate list of town and village parking places on its website.
The cobbled streets of Quay Hill lead down to Lymington's Town Quay, where yachts fill the harbour and the waterside path carries on along Bath Road past the sea water baths. The New Forest National Park Authority's 2-mile town trail links the quay, seafront and Georgian High Street in a level loop.
An artillery fortress built by Henry VIII at the seaward end of Hurst Spit to guard the narrow western entrance to the Solent, later strengthened from the Napoleonic Wars to the Second World War. Reaching it is part of the outing, by ferry from Keyhaven through the saltmarshes or on a 2-mile walk along the shingle.
Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0A level coastal walk from Keyhaven along the sea wall of the Solent Way, between Hampshire County Council's Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes Local Nature Reserve and the Wildlife Trust's offshore saltmarsh and mudflats. There are views to Hurst Castle, the Isle of Wight and the Needles, and birdlife in every season.
Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0The seafront at Milford on Sea, looked after by New Forest District Council, runs from Hordle Cliff and Paddy's Gap in the west to Hurst Road, where the shingle spit heads out towards Hurst Castle. Beach huts line the promenade, and the clifftop grassland at Hordle Cliff is managed for wild flowers and wildlife.
Hurst Castle, the Henry VIII fort at the end of the Solent shingle, runs a Halloween programme on every day of October half-term. A maze in the basement, a treasure trail and crafts keep younger visitors busy.
An artillery fortress built by Henry VIII at the seaward end of Hurst Spit to guard the narrow western entrance to the Solent, later strengthened from the Napoleonic Wars to the Second World War. Reaching it is part of the outing, by ferry from Keyhaven through the saltmarshes or on a 2-mile walk along the shingle.
The cobbled streets of Quay Hill lead down to Lymington's Town Quay, where yachts fill the harbour and the waterside path carries on along Bath Road past the sea water baths. The New Forest National Park Authority's 2-mile town trail links the quay, seafront and Georgian High Street in a level loop.
Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0A level coastal walk from Keyhaven along the sea wall of the Solent Way, between Hampshire County Council's Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes Local Nature Reserve and the Wildlife Trust's offshore saltmarsh and mudflats. There are views to Hurst Castle, the Isle of Wight and the Needles, and birdlife in every season.
Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0The seafront at Milford on Sea, looked after by New Forest District Council, runs from Hordle Cliff and Paddy's Gap in the west to Hurst Road, where the shingle spit heads out towards Hurst Castle. Beach huts line the promenade, and the clifftop grassland at Hordle Cliff is managed for wild flowers and wildlife.
A stretch of council-managed clifftop open space above Christchurch Bay at Barton-on-Sea, used for walking, cycling, picnics and watching wildlife. Designated paths and steps lead down to the beach, a designated bathing water, with beach huts along the shore.
An 18th-century shipbuilding village on the Beaulieu River where warships for Nelson's navy were built, including three that fought at Trafalgar. The museum and reconstructed cottages tell the story of the shipyard and the families who lived there, and the wide village street running down to the river is free to explore.
Photo: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0A 200-acre woodland garden where the Beaulieu River meets the Solent, best known for its spring displays of rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and magnolias. More than 22 miles of paths wind through the gardens to riverside walks, with autumn colour from nyssas and acers.
Photo: Paul Gillett, CC BY-SA 2.0A narrow-gauge steam railway built in 2001 inside Exbury Gardens, inspired by the railway enthusiast Leopold de Rothschild. The 20-minute ride on the Rhododendron Line gives a raised view of the Rock Garden and runs through a tunnel, over a bridge and around Dragonfly Pond.
