Lymington is on the edge of the New Forest.  The New Forest was established by Royal Charter in about 1069.  Obviously they’d run out of interesting names; or perhaps they didn’t think about future-proofing the name.  Anyway it was originally established as a Royal Hunting Ground.  Luckily this has meant the relative preservation of a now unique habitat.   It was also the source of the Royal Navy’s oak timbers for ship-building until they moved on to use steel.  There are also New Forest ponies and donkeys.  The ponies are a special sub-breed notable as they’re so small.  All this is just a five minute bus-ride away from Lymington.

New Forest donkeys by Kathryn Lewis

There are many other villages and towns to explore within the New Forest area including Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst and Beaulieu, to name those nearby.  Each has it’s own character and they are connected with bus and train routes to Lymington. There are plenty of places to hire bicycles and there are many signposted walks through the New Forest. There are also things to see and do from Lymington. Walk to Key Haven – Lymington used to harvest salt and the salt pools are still in evidence there’s a gentle walk that starts at the Lymington Yacht Haven and follows the edge of the pools to Key Haven.  If you persevere along the shingle spit you can get out to Hurst Castle which is one of Henry VIII’s many defences in the solent area. Hurst Castle – one of Henry VIII’s many defences built to keep out the French and Spanish. Lymington Salt Water Pool – I’ve seen the sign to this for many years but sadly this is still on my wish list as we didn’t get to Lymington during the Summer Season when it’s opened.  I’m fascinated to see what the pool is like from the inside. Yarmouth – sail or take the ferry over to Yarmouth and see Lymington from the other side.