Cobbled streets in Lymington's town centre

Lymington is a small port in Hampshire in the South East of England. It is adjacent to the New Forest and faces across the Solent to the western end of the Isle of Wight.

Lymington is a major yachting centre, with several yacht clubs and a large marina, as well as a ferry port serving Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

Historically, Lymington was a centre of the salt-drying industry, where salt water was admitted to shallow lagoons and dried out. These abandoned lagoons (called saltings) have now become major sea bird reserves, and the area attracts ornithologists.

Get in

By train

Lymington is the terminus of a branch rail line from Brockenhurst in the New Forest, where it connects with direct main line service from London Waterloo and many other parts of the country. Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling ☏ 0845 748 4950 (domestic) from anywhere in the UK.

There are two stations in Lymington:

1 Lymington Town train station. Lymington Town best serves the central area and marinas. (updated Oct 2023)

2 Lymington Pier train station. Lymington Pier is part of the ferry terminal complex. (updated Oct 2023)

By car

By road, Lymington can be approached from the west along the coast road (the A337 from Bournemouth. Any other direction requires a crossing of the New Forest with its sometimes congested roads. There are two alternatives; take the M27 to junction 1 and then the A337 through Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst, or leave the M27 at junction 2 and follow the A326 to Dibden Purlieu and then the B3054 through Beaulieu.

By ferry

Lymnington ferry terminal. Lymington is linked to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight by the Wightlink car and passenger ferry which runs every half-hour. (updated Oct 2023)

By bus

A few bus services connect to Lymington: the three main services are the X1/X2 (operated by Morebus) which go to Bournemouth and the 6 (operated by Bluestar) which goes to Southampton. All three are quite long journeys end to end, the 6 takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes, while the X1/X2 takes around 1 hour 50 minutes to reach Bournemouth. You can buy an Explorer ticket costing £8.60 for one day, which will be valid for both services, (the companies have the same owner). A few less frequent bus services also start/terminate in Lymington -- the two-day-a-week 112 to Hythe and the Monday to Friday 119 to New Milton.

Get around

Lymington is a small town, and most things of interest are within walking distance. Nonetheless, that doesn't stop you from boarding the train at Lymington Town to get down to the pier station for the ferry service, or using the bus services above to get to local areas.

See

• 1 Calshot Castle, Calshot Road, Calshot, SO45 1BR (14 miles east of Lymington), ☏ +44 2380 892023. An artillery fort, built by Henry VIII. Adults £3.00, children £2.10, concessions £2.10.  
• 2 Hurst Castle, Keyhaven, SO41 0TP (5 miles south-west of Lymington), ☏ +44 1590 642344. Adults £4.50, children £2.50, concessions £4.00.  

Do

• 1 New Forest National Park. The New Forest is a beautiful place to do a variety of outdoor activities. There are numerous off-road cycle paths scattered around the forest, interspersed between and even larger quantity of walking and hiking paths. With wild horses and donkeys year round, and cows in the summer, exploring the heathland of the New Forest seems to take you back to what the UK must have been like centuries past. Free. (updated Aug 2023)

Eat

Town centre parking is difficult and on market day (Saturday morning); it is almost impossible. If you shop in Waitrose you are allowed 2 hours parking (please check at the enquiry desk things do change). This will allow you enough time to be have a meal in town.

• 1 Angel & Blue Pig, High St, SO41 9AP, ☏ +44 1590 672050. 11:30AM-2PM, 6-9:30PM. A comfortable hotel with a very good restaurant nice food, well presented and bar meals, relaxed and comfortable. Service is good and friendly with an option to eat outside in good weather. Popular with the locals and that's always a good sign. 
• 2 Lanes of Lymington Restaurant & Bar, Ashley Lane, SO41 3RH, ☏ +44 1590 672777. 11:30AM-2PM, 6:30-9:30PM. The restaurant is tucked away down a quiet lane, just off the High Street. Serving a modern British menu. Lunch £12.50, dinner £30.00 average 3-course menu. 

Drink

• 1 The Ship Inn, Quay Hill, SO41 3AY. 
• 2 The Mayflower, King's Saltern Rd, SO41 3QD. 

Sleep

• 1 Stanwell House Hotel, 14-15 High St, SO41 9AA, ☏ +44 1590 677123. 
• 2 Britannia House, Station Street SO41 3BA, ☏ +44 1590 672091. Stylish little B&B near quay. No children under 8 or dogs. B&B double £110. (updated Jun 2020)

Go next

• 1 Isle of Wight — Wightlink offers a 40-minute ferry to Yarmouth.
• 2 Yarmouth (England)
• 3 Brockenhurst
• 4 Beaulieu
• 5 New Forest
• 6 Lyndhurst
• 7 Burley (England)
• 8 Christchurch (England)
• 9 Hythe
• 10 Cowes
• 11 Newport (Isle of Wight)

Routes through Lymington

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