Coastwalk

Lymington → Hythe, Hampshire

Distance: 15.9 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: unknown

Across the forest
« Christchurch | Southampton »

The Rules are starting to shape themselves now. I'd like to stick rigidly to the coast, but east of Lymington that's not possible. And while the Solent Way follows rights of way closest to the sea as far as Beaulieu, from there it takes a direct route across the New Forest to Hythe and the ferry to Southampton.

Here's the first rule then:

Rule 1: Where there's a waymarked coast-path, follow it

(Looking at the map, this short-cut doesn't exactly bypass one of England's most beautiful corners: I count two villages, a power station and a couple of oil refineries.)

Before Beaulieu, Buckler's Hard looked to be a charming place to stop for lunch and I regret now moving on quite so quickly. But then, with my hiking boots and ruck-sack I looked out of place amongst the well-heeled tourists.

At Hythe, a ferry from the end of a half-mile long pier takes you across Southampton Water into the heart of Southampton. To save you walking the length of the pier, a train with open-sided carriages takes you to the ferry: a very leisurely end to a good day of walking.