Essential Hotels > England > Hampshire > Lymington

Lying on the west bank of the Lymington River, at the south-most reaches of the New Forest, Lymington is a picturesque coastal port town. The area around Lymington has been inhabited since the iron age, the earliest settlement being the fort Buckland Rings. The town's name is derived from a 6th century Anglo-Saxon village, Limentun; “Limen” is thought to be a corruption of the Celtic word for elm tree, “lemana”, while “tun” is a farm or hamlet. Thus, Lymington was known as the “Town by the Elm Trees”.

Although Lymington is recorded in the Domesday Book as “Lentune”, the town proper has its roots in the late 12th century. William de Redvers, Lord of the Manor, issued the town its first charter, according the residents certain privileges, including the right to hold a market. With the market in town, merchants and tradesmen had a new incentive to visit and live in Lymington, and the real expansion of the town was set in motion. From this time, right up until the 19th century, Lymington was well-known for its salt making industry. A virtually unbroken line of salt-works lined the coast in the area, salt water was left to evaporate in the sun or boiled in coper ports before being sold country-wide.

Lymington was a hotbed of smuggling in the 18th century, and the yarns of many an old sea-farer recount exploits in the town. Whether all of the tales are true is hard to say, many legends are suspiciously similar to those told in other smuggling towns. Even if some stories were imported and embellished to give local appeal, there is no doubt that smuggling was rife. The author, Daniel Defoe wrote of Lymington in 1724,


Local legends tell that there are still smugglers' tunnels under the High Street running between the old inns and the quay. No such tunnels have been proven to exist, but some of the older residents swear they have explored them.

Shipbuilding industries had been based in Lymington since the 17th century, and proved a vital lifeline for the town when the salt trade began to peter out in the 19th century. The yacht's built in the town brought considerable wealth to Lymington, reflected in the architecture of the town. Much of the town centre consists of fine Victorian and Georgian buildings which flank narrowed, cobbled streets.

Yachting continues to play an important role in the life of Lymington today. The town has played host to several world famous regattas including the Royal Lymington Cup and Macnamara's Bowl. A popular attraction in the town is Thursday Evening Racing, with up to 100 boats registered to race every week in the summer months. Lymington is home to two sailing clubs, The Royal Lymington Yacht Club and Lymington River Sailing Club, a major yachting centre and three marinas.

Lymington is easily accessible by car; the A337 links the town to the M27, not far from the M3 junction for visitors arriving from London. Lymington has two train stations on a branch line linked to the national network at nearby Brockenhurst. Trains from Brockenhurst run to London Waterloo and Manchester via Birmingham. Bournemouth Airport is approximately 16 miles from Lymington while Southampton Airport is also close by, albeit a little further away at around 24 miles. While not as busy as other Hampshire ports of Southampton and Portsmouth, Lymington does offer a ferry service to the Isle of Wight, with boats departing on a roughly hourly schedule.