Lymington, Ferries and Ferry Crossings

Welcome to the Lymington (UK) section of FerryCrossings.org, the site for information about major UK and continental ports and the ferries between them. Our site includes an introduction to a number of ports and feature pages about the various crossing ways, lanes and routes and companies operating between them to help you plan your journey and discover interesting travel destinations along the way. You can even compare prices and save money on your ferry tickets with ads from selected major ferry lines.

Port of Lymington

Lymington is on the edge of the New Forest in Hampshire and is also on The Solent. It is a popular tourist destination and is an ideal holiday spot from which to take a ferry crossing to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. This is only short trip and the ferry carries both foot passengers and cars. Ferries are frequent and the journey takes just over half an hour.

The town's history and development is mainly centred around ships and the water. Lymington is mentioned in the Domesday Book and was granted a charter, enabling it to hold a market, in the early 1200s. Its early prosperity, through the Middle Ages right up to the 19th century, depended largely on the production of salt. It came into its own, though, in the late 1600s as its shipbuilding industry thrived and grew. Evidence of the prosperity is to be seen in the many interesting and beautiful Georgian and Victorian buildings to be found all around the town on its cobbled streets and narrow alleyways. A darker side of the town's history is centred on the smuggling activities for which the town is notorious and there are tales of smugglers' tunnels under the old village streets from the quay.

Today the town's passion for sailing and sailing events is obvious from the vast numbers of boats, from tiny sailing dinghies to massive cruisers, that are to be found berthed in the marinas or tied up to the moorings. For the visitor to the town there are many places to visit within easy reach of Lymington. There are the many New Forest attractions and the south coast holiday resorts, of Hampshire and Dorset are close enough for a day's outing. Also within easy reach of Lymington are such tourist attractions as Beaulieu Abbey, the Palace House and Gardens; Buckland Rings, a scheduled Ancient Monument; Bucklers Hard Historical Village and the Maritime Museum, where warships for Nelson's navy were built; Hurst Castle which, with its spectacular views across the Solent, was the Solent's main defence from the mid 1500s and is now a museum of historical guns and canons; Lymington and Keyhaven Nature Reserve, which is considered to be nationally important for birds, plants and insects; the famous National Motor Museum at Bealieu; Roydon Woods, a working reserve, which is a mixture of ancient woodland, heathland and meadows, with many rare species of lichens and fungi. Staying in Lymington itself and there are the attractions of the Quay and harbour, water activites and fishing. There is a popular weekly market selling everything from food to crafts to collectables. For a relaxing day you can sit at a pavement bar or cafe and watch the world go by as you enjoy fine food and drink. For such a small town it has such a great deal to offer