Coordinates: 50°45′N 1°33′W / 50.75°N 1.55°W
| Lymington | |
 Cobbled streets in Lymington town centre. |
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  Lymington
Lymington shown within Hampshire |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| District | New Forest |
| Shire county | Hampshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LYMINGTON |
| Postcode district | SO41 |
| Dialling code | 01590 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | New Forest West |
| List of places: UK • England • Hampshire | |
Lymington on the west bank of the Lymington River is a port 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 marinas. According to the 2001 census the Lymington urban area had a population of about 14,000.
The town has many shops, catering for tourists and sailing enthusiasts alike. 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.
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Due to the recent change 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. The high street has also seen rapid change over the last couple of years with an increasing presence of chain stores and coffee shop franchises. In recent months approval has been granted to a large development of retirement flats adjacent to the historic quay area. In a recent Channel 5) programme, Lymington received the accolade of 'best town on the coast' (in front of Sandbanks) in the UK for living, due to its beautiful scenery, strong transport links and low crime levels. It now takes part in the New Forest producers markets and they are held at the Masonic hall once a month in game season.
The earliest settlement in the Lymington area was around the Iron Age fort at Buckland known as Buckland Rings. The hill and ditches of this fort still remain. Evidence for later settlement (as opposed to occupation) is sparse before Domesday. Lymington itself began as an Anglo-Saxon village[1]. 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 Celtic name meaning elm tree.[2]
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.[3] 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 Third Reform Act of 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 [4]were raised to take part in the ill fated Quiberon bay expedition (1795) [5], 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.[6] 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. [7]
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 parished as the four parishes of New Milton, Lymington and Pennington, Milford-on-Sea and Hordle.
Lymington New Forest Hospital opened in 2007, replacing the earlier Lymington Hospital.
Lymington is mentioned in The Children of the New Forest by Captain Marryat. 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Lymington was also occasionally featured in the 1980s BBC series Howard's Way.[citation needed]
Lymington is also famous for its sailing 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.
The town's leisure amenities include several parks, a 9-hole golf course, a rowing club, two sailing clubs, a community centre, a library, the St Barbes Museum and Gallery, two swimming pools (one of which is Lymington Open Air Sea Water Baths built in 1833), a sports centre and a very small cinema/theatre. Lymington, being near the New Forest, is also a good location for walking, cycling and riding. There is also a Skatepark (skateboards) and several tennis courts and Youth Football pitches
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.
Lymington bus station 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.
Lymington has two railway stations: Lymington Pier (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 is one of the last places in the country that old "slam-door" trains can be seen in operation, as a "heritage" service.
The A337 road links Lymington to Lyndhurst and the M27 motorway to the north, and to New Milton and the South East Dorset conurbation to the west.
Three Wightlink 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.
 The town quay |
 A trawler lands oysters |
 Yachts laid up for winter |
 The Isle of Wight ferries pass |
 A forest of masts |
 Parish church of St. Thomas and All Saints |
 Lymington Seawater Baths, drained |
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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 center, 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 center of the salt drying industry, where salt water was admitted to shallow lagoons and dried out. These abandonded lagoons (called saltings) have now become major sea bird reserves, and the area attracts ornithologists.
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 and many other parts of the country. There are two stations in Lymington; Lymington Town best serves the central area and marinas, whilst Lymington Pier is part of the ferry terminal complex. Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.
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.
Lymington is linked to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight by the Wightlink car and passenger ferry which runs every half-hour.
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| | St Barbe Museum (Lymington) - St. Barbe Museum & Art Gallery |
| | Lymington.org website - Lymington - Local information and tourist guide |
| | Local Histories.org (Lymington) - A History of Lymington |
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| | Lymington River - Lymington Harbour Commissioners - Lymington Harbour Commissioners - Homepage |
| | Lymington Baptist Church - Lymington Baptist Church in Hampshire - Helping people follow Jesus |
| | Smugglers Britain Website - includes long article on Lymington smuggler Tom Johnstone - Smuggling in Hampshire between Southampton Water and Milford |
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| | New Forest Online (Guide to Lymington) - New Forest Online - guide to Lymington |
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