Lymington and Pennington
Lymington & Pennington – Jewel of the North Solent
Lymington was recently judged to be the most attractive seaside town in the south. Its town centre is a conservation area, with many buildings dating from the Georgian period and earlier. It has a thriving marina with two popular and prestigious sailing clubs. There is a rich selection of characterful pubs and welcoming restaurants with menus to suit all pockets. The busy Saturday street market, originating from a charter signed 800 years ago, attracts visitors and shoppers from a wide area and is always especially crowded on sunny summer weekends.
The town is conveniently situated just 11 miles across the New Forest from junction 1 of the M27. There is a main line station 4 miles away at Brockenhurst with frequent fast trains to London. Inter-city trains connect with most regions of the UK. Southampton and Bournemouth airports and shopping centres are within a 45 minute drive. Wightlink provides a 24 hour vehicle and passenger ferry service to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. Housing is relatively expensive, especially in Lymington itself, though prices in Pennington are a little more affordable. Current prices for a three-bed family home of average status range between £250,000 and £400,000.
Pennington, which lies to the west of the main town, is a significant residential area that is still remembered for the small rural community that it used to be a century ago. Many families whose roots can be traced back over generations still consider it to be their ‘village’. Pennington Common is a popular recreational area, especially for dog walkers. Parts of it are also protected sites of special scientific interest. In the summer months it often accommodates circuses, fun fairs and summer events.
Pennington also includes tracts of salt marshes where the layout of the former salt pans is still visible in the pools and lakes of the area, The abundant wildlife includes thriving colonies of marine and marshland birds and is a destination of choice for ornithologists. The coastal path from Lymington to Keyhaven provides an invigorating walk affording magnificent views of the Isle of Wight.
The Council is responsible for the maintenance of over 200 acres of recreational open space, the largest example of which comprises Woodside Gardens and park to the south-west of the town. Here formal gardens, play and sports facilities sit side by side. There are further full-sized sports pitches, along with the Lymington Bowling and Tennis clubs, near the centre of the town. Pennington also has a spacious sports ground adjacent to a popular sports club. The Council also manages a unique outdoor lido.
The 571 km2 of the New Forest, one of the UK’s most popular rural tourist venues, is right on Lymington’s doorstep, with its vast tracts of woodland and heathland, home to hundreds of wild roaming ponies, donkeys and cattle, not forgetting leisure walkers, cyclists and hardy hikers!