The Story of Lymington
This walk takes you through the heart of the town and follows Lymington’s
journey from Norman times when it was a planned new town, with
a thriving port, through to the present day centre for tourism,
sailing and retirement. Much of the original Norman layout survives
but with the prosperity of Georgian times the timber-framed houses
were replaced in the fashionable style of the day using brick.
Much of the wealth in the town at that period came from the salt
industry and as you walk down the present High Street you will
see some of the elegant Georgian buildings which survive today.
This walk begins at St Thomas’s Church and ends at the Town
Quay
Sea, Salt and Smuggling
Take this walk along the waterfront and find out how important
the river has always been to the town of Lymington. From
a time when the Quay was a very rough working area with sailing
ships bringing coal in to fuel the salt making industry and
then shipping the salt all over the world. Another source
of wealth in the town up until the Victorian era was smuggling
and Daniel Defoe found the town ‘teeming with smugglers
and all sorts of desperados’. In Victorian times Lymington
was also a fashionable spa for sea water bathing and its
renaissance as a place of leisure and enjoyment began.
This walk begins at the Town Quay and ends at the Royal Lymington
Yacht Club, Bath Road
Courts and Alleyways
This walk gives you the opportunity to explore some of the interesting
nooks and crannies of the High Street and find out what domestic
life was like in Lymington in days past. Until 1745 the butchers
still killed their animals in the street Shambles and living
at the bottom of Quay Hill after a heavy downpour was probably
not a pleasant experience !
This walk begins at St Thomas’s Church and ends in the
High Street
Pens and Personalities
From Dennis Wheatley’s satanic novels to Captain Marryat’s ‘Children
of the New Forest’ Lymington has more links with books
and their writers than you might think. Come and hear about some
of the literati of Lymington and discover where they gained the
inspiration to put pen to paper.
This walk begins at St Thomas’s Church and ends in the
High Street
Wavy Walls
Your guide will take you on a walk in the leafy south side of
Lymington and point out some interesting architectural features
including the famous Crinkle Crankle Walls, also known as
Serpentine or Wavy Walls. You will also hear tales of murder
and mayhem at a time when the inhabitants of Lymington were
outnumbered by foreign soldiers.
This walk begins at St Thomas’s Church and ends on the
Town Quay
Buckland Rings
Take a stroll out of the ‘Manor of Lymington’ along
the old highway where the stage coaches would have travelled
to the Iron Age fort, there you can scramble up the ramparts
of the ancient earthworks hidden in the woods. Finish at the
Tollhouse Inn where you will hear how road tax isn’t such
a recent thing after all. A lovely walk on a summer day or evening.
This walk begins at The Borough Arms, Avenue Road and ends at
the Tollhouse Inn, Buckland
A Time Traveller's Guide to Victorian Lymington
This walk looks at what life was like in the town after it’s Georgian heyday and which led one visitor to refer to the Town as ‘like a former beauty who is dragging out a neglected old age in a boarding house” and others found that a handkerchief and some Keating’s Powder were necessary.
The walk starts at Lymington Railway Station and finishes in New Street.
The Story of Milford
Meet on the village green and take a stroll through the village
of Milford on Sea and its lovely wooded Pleasure Grounds
while your guide relates how the sleepy hamlet of Milford
changed its name and tried to rival genteel Eastbourne. Hear
the story of the string of Pearls seven yards long before
you end up at the Westover Hotel on the cliff top.
Voices from the Grave
Milford on Sea has attracted more than it’s share of characters and personalities over the years, many of whom ‘remain’ in All Saints Church and the churchyard. Come and hear their stories!
Walk starts from the Lych Gate and ends at All Saints Church.
Secrets of Pennington
Why was Pennington known as ‘Donkey Town’ and what other secrets lay hidden? What is it’s link with English football and who fought a dual on the common?
Walk starts at Highfield and ends at Pennington Cross
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