Lymington
Encyclopedia
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River
on the Solent
, in the New Forest district
of Hampshire
, England
. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation
, and faces Yarmouth
on the Isle of Wight
which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink
. The town has a large tourist industry, based on proximity to the New Forest
and the harbour. It is a major yachting
centre with three marina
s. According to the 2001 census the Lymington urban area had a population of about 14,000.
fort
known today as Buckland Rings
. The hill and ditches of this fort still remain, and an archaeological excavation of part of the Walls was carried out there in 1935. It has been dated to around the sixth century BC. There is also another supposed Iron Age site at nearby Ampress Hole. Evidence for later settlement (as opposed to occupation) however is sparse before Domesday.
Lymington itself began as an Anglo-Saxon village. The Jutes
arrived in what is now South West Hampshire from the Isle of Wight in the 6th century and founded a settlement called limentun. The OE word tun means a farm or hamlet whilst Limen is believed to be a corruption of a Celtic word *lemana meaning elm-tree.
The town is recorded in the Domesday book
of 1086 as "Lentune". About 1200 the lord of the manor, William de Redvers created the borough of New Lymington around the present quay and High Street whilst Old Lymington comprised the rest of the parish. He gave the town its first charter and the right to hold a market. The town became a Parliamentary Borough in 1585 returning two MPs until 1832 when its electoral base was expanded. Lymington continued to return two MPs until the Second Reform Act of 1867
when its representation was reduced to one. On the passage of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Lymington's parliamentary representation was merged with the New Forest Division.
From the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century Lymington was famous for making salt. Saltworks comprised almost a continuous belt along the coast toward Hurst Spit.
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century Lymington possessed a military depot that included a number of foreign troops - mostly artillery but including several militia regiments. At the time of the Napoleonic Wars
the King's German Legion
was based here. As well as Germans and Dutch, there were French émigrés and French regiments were raised to take part in the ill fated Quiberon
bay expedition (1795), from which few returned.
From the early nineteenth century it had a thriving shipbuilding
industry, particularly associated with Thomas Inman the builder of the schooner Alarm, which famously raced the American yacht America in 1851. Much of the town centre is Victorian
and Georgian
, with narrow cobbled streets, giving an air of quaintness. The wealth of the town at the time is represented in its architecture.
Lymington particularly promotes stories about its smuggling
history; there are unproven stories that under the High Street are smugglers' tunnels that run from the old inns to the town quay.
Lymington was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
. In addition to the original town, 1932 saw a major expansion of the borough, to add Milton (previously an urban district) and the parishes of Milford on Sea
and Pennington
, and parts of other parishes, from Lymington Rural District - this extended the borough west along the coast to the border with Christchurch
.
Under the Local Government Act 1972
the borough of Lymington was abolished on April 1, 1974, becoming an unparished area
in the district of New Forest
, with Charter Trustees
. The area was subsequently parished as the four parishes of New Milton
, Lymington and Pennington, Milford-on-Sea and Hordle
.
) in the UK for living, due to its beautiful scenery, strong transport links and low crime levels.
Lymington New Forest Hospital
opened in 2007, replacing the earlier Lymington Hospital
.
enthusiasts alike.
Lymington has a wide range of shops and a large street market on the High Street, as well as three supermarkets: Waitrose
, Tesco
, and M&S Simply Food. Local campaigns have resulted in the rejection of proposals for the opening of branches of the Argos
retail and in 2010 the Wetherspoon's pub chains. The story relating to the alleged "refusal" by the council to allow Argos to trade in Lymington which in turn gave rise to the "Snootiest Town" label, was later to be proved incorrect. According to Town Council Argos did not need to seek permission to open in a store that already had the benefit of retail Planning Permission (Waitrose Plc). No petition against an Argos store was ever handed to the Council and no permission to trade in the town by the Argos Group was ever needed or sought. This episode, however, was greatly exploited and somewhat embellished by the National Media.
There is a local market every Saturday, which takes place in the main High Street. The market is fairly typical for southern England, selling a selection of general household items, craft items and a selection of food produce from the local area. It now takes part in the New Forest producers markets and they are held at the Masonic hall once a month in game season.
and South of England, Lymington experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official Metoffice weather station for which online records are available is Everton , about 2 miles to the West of the town centre. Thanks to its position near the South Coast, sunshine levels are high relative to the majority of the rest of England, and severe frost unusual, with temperature the coldest recorded temperature in 43 years of records no lower than -11.1 C (Set in January 1963). The highest locally recorded temperature was 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) in June 1976.
built in 1833), a sports centre and a very small cinema/theatre. There is also a Skatepark (skateboards), several tennis courts and Youth Football pitches
Located near the New Forest, Lymington is also a good location for walking, cycling and riding.
history, and in recent years has been home to world famous regattas such as the Royal Lymington Cup, Etchells
Worlds, Macnamara's Bowl, and Source Regatta. The strong tides make it a challenging race track, and together with the shallow depth of the river has resulted in Lymington losing a lot of regattas to the Central Solent, principally run from Cowes
. Nevertheless, Thursday Evening Racing takes place with up to 100 boats registered to race every Thursday night during the summer, hosted by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Started in the 1990s, it has become increasingly popular.
There are two Sailing Clubs in the town, both active. The Royal Lymington Yacht Club, founded in the 1920s as the Lymington River Sailing Club, now has over 3000 members, and now plays host to major keelboat
and dinghy
events. The Lymington Town Sailing Club, founded in 1946, plays host to the popular Lymington Winter Series known as the Solent Circuit.
is owned by Wilts & Dorset
, who also own a bus depot in the town. Numerous local services are operated, as well as routes to Bournemouth
and Southampton
. In the summer, the New Forest Tour
serves the town with open-top buses.
(the terminus
), on the east side of the river near the ferry terminal, and Lymington Town
. These stations are connected to the national rail network by a branch line to Brockenhurst
. Services are currently operated by South West Trains
, and are unofficially known as the Lymington Flyer
. This branch line was the last place in the country that used old "slam-door"
trains until these ceased operations on 22nd May 2010.
to the north, and to New Milton and the South East Dorset conurbation
to the west.
ferries have run from Lymington to Yarmouth since the 1970s, named after Anglo Saxon Kings: Cenred, Cenwulf and Caedmon. In February 2009 they were replaced by larger vessels built in Croatia, Wight Light, White Sky and White Sun. These ferries are owned by the company that also owns the M6 Toll. They run on average every hour, from a port south east of the old town on the far side of the Lymington River
.
. It also features in the historical novels of local writer Warwick Collins (namely The Rationalist and The Marriage of Souls) and The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd
.
In Tom Clancy
's Patriot Games
, a Wightlink ferry heading from the Lymington ferry terminal is intercepted and a prisoner is extracted in heavy seas. Several men on board the ferry are murdered.
The 1980 Christmas
special of the ITV
children's show Worzel Gummidge
was filmed in the town during the summer of that year. During filming a sudden wind blew the titanium dioxide
that was being used as a replica of snow
into homes, shops and businesses, causing damage and a large compensation bill for the producers, Southern Television
.
Lymington was also occasionally featured in the 1980s BBC
series Howard's Way.
Lymington River
----The Lymington River is a small river in the south of england, flowing through the New Forest into the Solent at the town of Lymington. The river has a total length of 30 km, although above the point where it leaves the Crown lands of the New Forest at Brockenhurst it is known as the Highland...
on the Solent
Solent
The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...
, in the New Forest district
New Forest (district)
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation
South East Dorset conurbation
The South east Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England. The area is rapidly becoming an amalgamation with the area of South West Hampshire immediately on the fringe of the newly formed New Forest National Park...
, and faces Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Yarmouth is a port and civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of mainland England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink
Wightlink
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.Their core routes are car ferries from Lymington to Yarmouth and Portsmouth to Fishbourne...
. The town has a large tourist industry, based on proximity to the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
and the harbour. It is a major yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
centre with three marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
s. According to the 2001 census the Lymington urban area had a population of about 14,000.
History
The earliest settlement in the Lymington area was around the Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
known today as Buckland Rings
Buckland Rings
Buckland Rings is the site of an Iron Age hill fort in the town of Lymington, Hampshire. Today, the mounds and dykes around the outside which once constituted its defences are still clearly visible, although the outer bank lies under the road on the west side, and on the south-east it is nearly...
. The hill and ditches of this fort still remain, and an archaeological excavation of part of the Walls was carried out there in 1935. It has been dated to around the sixth century BC. There is also another supposed Iron Age site at nearby Ampress Hole. Evidence for later settlement (as opposed to occupation) however is sparse before Domesday.
Lymington itself began as an Anglo-Saxon village. The Jutes
Jutes
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
arrived in what is now South West Hampshire from the Isle of Wight in the 6th century and founded a settlement called limentun. The OE word tun means a farm or hamlet whilst Limen is believed to be a corruption of a Celtic word *lemana meaning elm-tree.
The town is recorded in the Domesday book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as "Lentune". About 1200 the lord of the manor, William de Redvers created the borough of New Lymington around the present quay and High Street whilst Old Lymington comprised the rest of the parish. He gave the town its first charter and the right to hold a market. The town became a Parliamentary Borough in 1585 returning two MPs until 1832 when its electoral base was expanded. Lymington continued to return two MPs until the Second Reform Act of 1867
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
when its representation was reduced to one. On the passage of the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
Lymington's parliamentary representation was merged with the New Forest Division.
From the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century Lymington was famous for making salt. Saltworks comprised almost a continuous belt along the coast toward Hurst Spit.
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century Lymington possessed a military depot that included a number of foreign troops - mostly artillery but including several militia regiments. At the time of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
the King's German Legion
King's German Legion
The King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
was based here. As well as Germans and Dutch, there were French émigrés and French regiments were raised to take part in the ill fated Quiberon
Quiberon
Quiberon is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon...
bay expedition (1795), from which few returned.
From the early nineteenth century it had a thriving shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
industry, particularly associated with Thomas Inman the builder of the schooner Alarm, which famously raced the American yacht America in 1851. Much of the town centre is Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
, with narrow cobbled streets, giving an air of quaintness. The wealth of the town at the time is represented in its architecture.
Lymington particularly promotes stories about its smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
history; there are unproven stories that under the High Street are smugglers' tunnels that run from the old inns to the town quay.
Lymington was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. In addition to the original town, 1932 saw a major expansion of the borough, to add Milton (previously an urban district) and the parishes of Milford on Sea
Milford on Sea
Milford on Sea is a large village and civil parish located on the south coast of England in the county of Hampshire. With a population of approximately 4500, Milford has a variety of shops, restaurants and pubs in its high street, which borders the village green.-Overview:Milford on Sea is village...
and Pennington
Pennington, Hampshire
Pennington is a village in Hampshire, England. It is situated in the town of Lymington, and is in the civil parish of Lymington and Pennington. The settlement is located in the southern part of the New Forest, near the shore of the Solent.-Overview:...
, and parts of other parishes, from Lymington Rural District - this extended the borough west along the coast to the border with Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
.
Under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
the borough of Lymington was abolished on April 1, 1974, becoming an unparished area
Unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city...
in the district of New Forest
New Forest (district)
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
, with Charter Trustees
Charter Trustees
In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established...
. The area was subsequently parished as the four parishes of New Milton
New Milton
New Milton is a market town in south west Hampshire, England. The town has a high street and holds a market every Wednesday. Situated on the edge of the New Forest, the town is about 6 miles west of Lymington town centre and 12 miles east of Bournemouth town centre.-History:New Milton dates back...
, Lymington and Pennington, Milford-on-Sea and Hordle
Hordle
Hordle is a village and civil parish in the county of Hampshire, England. It is situated between the Solent coast and the New Forest, and is bordered by the towns of Lymington and New Milton. Like many New Forest parishes Hordle has no village centre...
.
Lymington today
Due to changes in planning legislation, many traditional areas of the town have been redeveloped; older houses have been demolished and replaced with new blocks of flats and retirement homes. In a Channel 5 programme, Lymington received the accolade of 'best town on the coast' (in front of SandbanksSandbanks
Sandbanks is a small peninsula or spit crossing the mouth of Poole Harbour on the English Channel coast at Poole in Dorset, England. It is well-known for the highly regarded Sandbanks Beach and property value; Sandbanks has, by area, the fourth highest land value in the world...
) in the UK for living, due to its beautiful scenery, strong transport links and low crime levels.
Lymington New Forest Hospital
Lymington New Forest Hospital
Lymington New Forest Hospital is a community hospital in Lymington, Hampshire, designed by Murphy Philipps Architects. Constructed at a cost of £36 million by Ryhurst Ltd through a private finance initiative, the hospital was opened on 6th February 2007 by Princess Anne.The hospital houses a...
opened in 2007, replacing the earlier Lymington Hospital
Lymington Hospital
Lymington Hospital was a consultant-led community hospital in Lymington, Hampshire. The hospital was closed and knocked down, with the site being turned into houses. It was replaced by Lymington New Forest Hospital which opened in 2007 on a nearby site. The old hospital was administered by New...
.
Shopping
The high street has seen rapid change over the last few years, with an increasing presence of chain stores and coffee shop franchises. The result is that the town has many shops, catering for tourists and sailingSailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
enthusiasts alike.
Lymington has a wide range of shops and a large street market on the High Street, as well as three supermarkets: Waitrose
Waitrose
Waitrose Limited is an upmarket chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom and is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. Its head office is in Bracknell, Berkshire, England...
, Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, and M&S Simply Food. Local campaigns have resulted in the rejection of proposals for the opening of branches of the Argos
Argos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
retail and in 2010 the Wetherspoon's pub chains. The story relating to the alleged "refusal" by the council to allow Argos to trade in Lymington which in turn gave rise to the "Snootiest Town" label, was later to be proved incorrect. According to Town Council Argos did not need to seek permission to open in a store that already had the benefit of retail Planning Permission (Waitrose Plc). No petition against an Argos store was ever handed to the Council and no permission to trade in the town by the Argos Group was ever needed or sought. This episode, however, was greatly exploited and somewhat embellished by the National Media.
There is a local market every Saturday, which takes place in the main High Street. The market is fairly typical for southern England, selling a selection of general household items, craft items and a selection of food produce from the local area. It now takes part in the New Forest producers markets and they are held at the Masonic hall once a month in game season.
Climate
As with the rest of the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and South of England, Lymington experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official Metoffice weather station for which online records are available is Everton , about 2 miles to the West of the town centre. Thanks to its position near the South Coast, sunshine levels are high relative to the majority of the rest of England, and severe frost unusual, with temperature the coldest recorded temperature in 43 years of records no lower than -11.1 C (Set in January 1963). The highest locally recorded temperature was 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) in June 1976.
Leisure amenities
The town's leisure amenities include several parks, a 9-hole golf course, a rowing club, a community centre, a library, the St Barbe Museum and Gallery, two swimming pools (one of which is Lymington Open Air Sea Water BathsLymington Open Air Sea Water Baths
Lymington Open Air Sea Water Baths , Bath Road, Lymington, Hampshire. Built in 1833 it is the oldest lido in the UK...
built in 1833), a sports centre and a very small cinema/theatre. There is also a Skatepark (skateboards), several tennis courts and Youth Football pitches
Located near the New Forest, Lymington is also a good location for walking, cycling and riding.
Sailing
Lymington is famous for its sailingSailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
history, and in recent years has been home to world famous regattas such as the Royal Lymington Cup, Etchells
Etchells
The International Etchells Class is a racing class of one-design sailing boats.-History:In 1965, Yachting Magazine launched a competition to select a new three man Olympic keelboat. E. W. "Skip" Etchells, a boat designer, builder and sailor, was interested in the competition, but refrained from...
Worlds, Macnamara's Bowl, and Source Regatta. The strong tides make it a challenging race track, and together with the shallow depth of the river has resulted in Lymington losing a lot of regattas to the Central Solent, principally run from Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
. Nevertheless, Thursday Evening Racing takes place with up to 100 boats registered to race every Thursday night during the summer, hosted by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Started in the 1990s, it has become increasingly popular.
There are two Sailing Clubs in the town, both active. The Royal Lymington Yacht Club, founded in the 1920s as the Lymington River Sailing Club, now has over 3000 members, and now plays host to major keelboat
Keelboat
Keelboat has two distinct meanings related to two different types of boats: one a riverine cargo-capable working boat, and the other a classification for small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yachts.-Historical keel-boats:...
and dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
events. The Lymington Town Sailing Club, founded in 1946, plays host to the popular Lymington Winter Series known as the Solent Circuit.
Transport links
Bus
Lymington bus stationLymington bus station
Lymington bus station is a bus station located in the Hampshire town of Lymington. Services from the bus station are provided by Wilts & Dorset, to surrounding towns and villages in the New Forest area....
is owned by Wilts & Dorset
Wilts & Dorset
Wilts & Dorset is a bus company in England covering Poole, Bournemouth, East Dorset, South Wiltshire and West Hampshire. Its local headquarters is in Poole, but it is owned by the Go-Ahead Group, a major UK transport group....
, who also own a bus depot in the town. Numerous local services are operated, as well as routes to Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. In the summer, the New Forest Tour
New Forest Tour
The New Forest Tour is an open-top bus service in the New Forest, running two circular routes around Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Lymington, Beaulieu and Exbury Gardens as well as going to Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Cadnam and Ashurst...
serves the town with open-top buses.
Rail
Lymington has two railway stations: Lymington PierLymington Pier railway station
Lymington Pier railway station is a railway station serving the harbour area of Lymington in Hampshire, England. It the terminus of the Lymington Branch Line from Brockenhurst, and provides a connection with the ferry service to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. It has only one platform.The station is...
(the terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
), on the east side of the river near the ferry terminal, and Lymington Town
Lymington Town railway station
Lymington Town railway station is a railway station serving the town of Lymington in Hampshire, England. It is the only intermediate station on the Lymington Branch Line from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier...
. These stations are connected to the national rail network by a branch line to Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is a village situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is a national park and Brockenhurst is therefore surrounded by woodland that attracts thousands of visitors all year round. The nearby towns surrounding Brockenhurst are Lymington and Lyndhurst. Brockenhurst...
. Services are currently operated by South West Trains
South West Trains
South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight...
, and are unofficially known as the Lymington Flyer
Lymington Branch Line
The Lymington Branch Line is a railway that runs from Brockenhurst to Lymington Pier, both in the New Forest. The railway line is around long, and is single track throughout its length. It diverges from the South Western Main Line at Lymington Junction; and, at Lymington Pier, trains connect with...
. This branch line was the last place in the country that used old "slam-door"
British Rail Class 421
The British Rail Class 421 electrical multiple units were built at BR York Works between 1964 and 1972. Units were built in two batches, and were initially introduced on services on the Brighton Main Line. Later units were introduced on services to Portsmouth. These units replaced older Southern...
trains until these ceased operations on 22nd May 2010.
Roads
The A337 road links Lymington to Lyndhurst and the M27 motorwayM27 motorway
The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs west-east from Cadnam to Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983. It is however unfinished as an extension to the east was planned...
to the north, and to New Milton and the South East Dorset conurbation
South East Dorset conurbation
The South east Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England. The area is rapidly becoming an amalgamation with the area of South West Hampshire immediately on the fringe of the newly formed New Forest National Park...
to the west.
Ferries
Three WightlinkWightlink
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.Their core routes are car ferries from Lymington to Yarmouth and Portsmouth to Fishbourne...
ferries have run from Lymington to Yarmouth since the 1970s, named after Anglo Saxon Kings: Cenred, Cenwulf and Caedmon. In February 2009 they were replaced by larger vessels built in Croatia, Wight Light, White Sky and White Sun. These ferries are owned by the company that also owns the M6 Toll. They run on average every hour, from a port south east of the old town on the far side of the Lymington River
Lymington River
----The Lymington River is a small river in the south of england, flowing through the New Forest into the Solent at the town of Lymington. The river has a total length of 30 km, although above the point where it leaves the Crown lands of the New Forest at Brockenhurst it is known as the Highland...
.
Lymington in fiction
Lymington is mentioned in The Children of the New Forest by Captain MarryatFrederick Marryat
Captain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...
. It also features in the historical novels of local writer Warwick Collins (namely The Rationalist and The Marriage of Souls) and The Forest by Edward Rutherfurd
Edward Rutherfurd
Edward Rutherfurd is a pen name for Francis Edward Wintle known primarily as a writer of epic historical novels...
.
In Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
's Patriot Games
Patriot Games
Patriot Games is a novel by Tom Clancy. It is chronologically the first book focusing on CIA analyst Jack Ryan, the main character in almost all of Clancy's novels. It is the indirect sequel to Without Remorse...
, a Wightlink ferry heading from the Lymington ferry terminal is intercepted and a prisoner is extracted in heavy seas. Several men on board the ferry are murdered.
The 1980 Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
special of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
children's show Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge is a British children's fictional character who originally appeared in a series of books by the novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. A walking, talking scarecrow, Gummidge has a set of interchangeable turnip, mangel worzel and swede heads, each of which suit a particular occasion or endow...
was filmed in the town during the summer of that year. During filming a sudden wind blew the titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. Generally it comes in two different forms, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of...
that was being used as a replica of snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
into homes, shops and businesses, causing damage and a large compensation bill for the producers, Southern Television
Southern Television
Southern Television was the first ITV broadcasting licence holder for the south and south-east of England from 30 August 1958 until the night of 31 December 1981. The company was launched as Southern Television Limited and the title Southern Television was consistently used on-air throughout its life...
.
Lymington was also occasionally featured in the 1980s BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Howard's Way.
Twin towns
VitréVitré, Ille-et-VilaineVitré is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France.Vitré, a sub-prefecture until 1926, is the seat of a canton of around 17,000 inhabitants . It lies on the edge of Brittany, near Normandy, Maine, and Anjou...
(FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
)
MosbachMosbachMosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49.21'N 9.9'E....
(GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
)
AlmansaAlmansaAlmansa is a Spanish town and municipality in the province of Albacete, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The municipality borders with Alicante, Valencia and Murcia...
(SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
)