OK, I could go on about how Lymington is a quaint Georgian town on the South Coast, a centre for sailing, historically based on salt production and has a market every Saturday. But I won’t. Because you can read about that stuff elsewhere and there’s no point in repeating it.
What you really want is what it’s like to live here, right? That’s why you came to a website called Living in Lymington. Or am I missing something?
I get requests about what it’s like to live in Lymington on a fairly regular basis and I tend to send the same details to each request. To save a bit of time and effort I have produced a primer in pdf form that can be downloaded free Living in Lymington Primer
So on with the plot. I get a lot of interest from my blog posts about walks in and around Lymington, so maybe a little clarification is required. If you want a serious yomp as far as I am concerned, there’s only one option. The Solent Way, or more specifically the sea wall at Lymington. It stretches from the Yacht Haven all the way to Hurst Point at Milford on Sea and is easy walking pretty much all the way although you’ll need to set aside more than half an hour to do the whole length. Although the sea wall walk is at it’s very best on a sunny day with a light sea breeze, it is a great experience walking on it in the teeth of a south westerly. Though if you add the rain which frequently comes from the south west in winter, you might consider it a tad too challenging. A bonus is the RSPB reserve situated on the inland side of the wall which used to be the salt pans which gave Lymington it’s early wealth. This also allows a number of circular walks, particularly from the Yacht Haven.
It’s not all about the sea though, you have the New Forest as well. For easier walking seek out an Inclosure. Some are wooded and you don’t see much other than trees, although go near dusk and it’s not too unusual to see deer, others are much more open. Then there’s the heathland. You need to be careful if you go off-piste as it is pretty boggy in many areas, and surprisingly easy to get lost without a compass and map. No really, it’s not the Himalayas or anything, but lost is still lost.
Another area of concern for my blog visitors is shopping in Lymington. Well it’s a tad focussed to be honest. We could really do with a larger M&S, it’s barely more than a foodhall, but with a smallish Tescos and a reasonable sized Waitrose, you aren’t going to starve. There is an old established department store, Elliots, and a branch of a lot of the high street banks and building societies. We also have a remarkable number of coffee shops, eateries and restaurants, but no fast food chains. I don’t count the most excellent fish and chip shop in the High Street as it’s not unusual to get quite a queue in the evenings. Worth the wait though.
So that’s the bald basics. There is so much more to living in Lymington, but that’s what the blog posts are for. If you are one of my visitors who are thinking about moving to Lymington, and there’s something you specifically want to know, drop me a line and I’ll see if I can help.
If you want a holiday in Lymington, you need to know there is no beach. Go west down the coast to Milford on Sea and there is a pebbly beach, further on there are some great sandy beaches like Southbourne, but you’ll need to drive for a bit. Go east and there is the Lepe Country Park. You’ll need to pay, but there are the required facilities, viz public loos and a cafe. Accommodation at all levels is available, from basic camp sites, through mobile homes, B&B’s, through all ranges of hotel right up to some pretty luxurious offerings. Be prepared to walk when in town, at the height of the season it gets pretty busy and the car parks fill up quickly. There is a fair amount of disabled parking, but with a more mature population, these can be at a premium sometimes.