Lymington Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of Hampshire, and around 15 miles east of Bournemouth, is the town of Lymington.

Geographically, Lymington is situated on the southern fringe of the New Forest National Park, at the mouth of its namesake River Lymington, which feeds into the Solent - the strait which separates mainland Britain from the Isle of Wight. The original Anglo-Saxon settlement here likely consisted of a group of huts around the shore edge. Around circa 1200 AD Lord of the Manor William de Redvers acquired a market charter for Lymington. De Redvers laid out the High Street, making it wide enough to accommodate the weekly market that runs to this day.

At the heart of the town is the Parish Church of St Thomas the Apostle. This dates back to the 13th century, with various additions including the tower which was added in circa 1670.

Historically, due to being situated at an estuary and tidal marshes, Lymington was a producer of salt, going all the way back to the Roman era. Salt production had resumed by the medieval era, and continued up until the 19th century before it eventually ceased after the last salt works here closed in 1865. The town also had a shipbuilding industry, aided by its natural harbour. From as early as the 13th century, ships were produced here, continuing into the 20th century.

In 1830 the first ferry service between Lymington and Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight began operation. The crossing was initially via paddle steamer. Steamships were phased out here during the 20th century and replaced with motor vessels, with the last paddle steamer ceasing operation here in 1948. Today, regular ferries run between Lymington and Yarmouth, operated by Wightlink.

In 1858 the first railway station in Lymington opened, followed by a second in 1884. The original station is known today as Lymington Town, while the second is named Lymington Pier. These form the final two stations on a branch line linking to Brockenhurst, which in turn links to the South West Main Line which runs between London Waterloo and Weymouth.

Today, the town is home to the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. An honorary life member is multiple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie. Whilst Ainslie was born in Cheshire and raised in Cornwall, he has spent a portion of his adult life in Lymington. This led to the postbox on the High Street being painted gold 'unofficially' in the same manner that other postboxes have been painted gold to commemorate the hometowns of 2012 gold medallists. Lymington's postbox paint job was initially considered an act of vandalism by Royal Mail and the man responsible was arrested, but later released. Ainslie himself later stepped in to defend him, leading to Royal Mail doing a U-turn and giving the postbox a fresh coat of gold paint!

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Filmed: 25th May 2024

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nz5ETQzAqcbqW...

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Quay Road
2:33 Quay Street
4:20 Quay Hill
6:55 High Street
14:20 St Thomas Street
18:02 Queen Street