Lymington River

The Lymington River drains part of the New Forest in Hampshire. It begins with several headwaters west of Lyndhurst, including Highland Water, Bratley Water and Fletchers Water. From Brockenhurst the river flows southwards to the Solent at Lymington. Highland Water rises north of the Ocknell Inclosure and flows for 10 kilometres to Bolderford Bridge. There it meets Ober Water and becomes the Lymington River for the final 12 kilometres to the estuary. The river’s history includes a causeway built in 1731 by Captain Cross, a merchant navy captain. His toll bridge and houses stood a mile south of the existing Boldre bridge and slowed the river’s flow. By 1795 the estuary was already silting up and narrowing. The structure was later taken over by the rail firm and then by Hampshire County Council in 1955. Today silting still occurs but is partly offset by higher sea levels and the scouring of Isle of Wight ferries. The river’s extensive reedbeds are protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Water quality is monitored by the Environment Agency, which rates ecological and chemical status. The estuary meets the Solent where Lymington’s marshes and Hurst Castle lie nearby. Low tide exposes mudflats that extend 550 to 650 metres further inland than in 1895.