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Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk

Easy coastal walk along the Solent Way with views towards the Isle of Wight. Return by bus.

Coast Easy Hampshire My Favourites Solent Way

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sat, 14-Sep-24 Lymington to Barton - first outing in eight years! 10 lovely sunshine
Wed, 07-Sep-16 Wednesday Swimming Walk - SWC 62 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea 2 Sunny and almost too hot
Sat, 26-Jul-14 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk 20
Wed, 17-Jul-13 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk
Sun, 24-Jul-11 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk
Sun, 05-Jul-09 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk
Sat, 27-Sep-08 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk
Sun, 27-Jul-08 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk
Mon, 27-Aug-07 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea Walk

Saturday 14-Sep-24

Walker
Length: 15.7km (9.8 miles) T=swc.62

9.35 train from Waterloo to Brockenhurst, arriving 11.05, changing there for the 11.12 to Lymington Pier, arriving 11.20.
From Clapham Junction get the 9.27 train to Woking, arriving 9.46 to pick up the above train at 10.00
*** Make sure you get off at Lymington Town NOT Lymington Pier: it is quite a walk between the two if you make a mistake.
See Getting back below but my advice is buy a day return to Lymington Town. This costs £33.95 with a Network/Senior card: possibly slightly cheaper from boundary zone six. You could get a day return to New Milton (£33.60 with Network/Senior card) which would probably be OK for the outward leg to Lymington. But as I explain below, it may be easier to come back from Lymington Town anyway.

For walk directions click here, for GPX click here, for a map of the route click here.
OK, I will admit, a rather pricey rail ticket on this one: but soon the summer will be over and winter will be long and cold....
This once popular SWC walk has also been tragically neglected in recent years. Its last outing SWC outing was in 2016!
It starts with a beautiful walk across the coastal marshland south of Lymington, with fine views across to the Isle of Wight and the Needles, and then follows the sea front between Milton-on-Sea and Barton-on-Sea, with good sea swimming opportunities. It is low tide in the afternoon this week, which limits swimming opportunities elsewhere, but this is the Solent, which has double tides: the entire tidal range on this coast today is a barely noticeable 80 centimetres.
Lunch: both the Gun Inn after 5 miles and the Needles Eye Cafe after 6 miles still seem to be in business, judging from their websites. For tea/drinks at the end of the walk, the Beachcomber Cafe on the cliff top in Barton-on-Sea is a very pleasant place, from memory, serving cakes, meals and alcohol and open until 9pm.
Getting back: A problem with this walk is that it is 1.5 miles from the Beachcomber to New Milton station, a dull town walk, with the rare buses (the X1 at 16.42 and 18.34) being cruelly timed to just miss the hourly 37 past train to London.
*** But here is an idea. Stay on the X1 bus another 20 minutes to half an hour (and remember fares for any bus journey are still just £2) to Gosport Street, adjacent to Lymington Town station, and get a train from there. Connections work well here, and if you miss a train, Lymington is both a much nicer place to wait and trains are twice an hour, at 29 and 59 past.

- 16.42 bus, arriving at Lymington at 17.23, connecting to the 17.29 train to Brockenhurst, arriving 17.37, changing there to the 17.44 train to Waterloo, arriving 19.20

- 18.34 bus, arriving at Lymington at 19.04, connecting to the 19.29 train to Brockenhurst, arriving 19.37, changing there to the 19.44 train to Waterloo, arriving 21.20
  • Fri, 13-Sep-24

    Well well. I never done this Walk before. Nor have I been to Lymington I don't Think. But looking forward to giving it a go.

  • Sat, 14-Sep-24

    10 on this unfairly neglected walk. Trains down were busy (MOST of us got a seat…) and we unfortunately missed the connection at Brockenhurst by two minutes, meaning we had to wait half an hour for the next train.

    Lots of people go to Lymington by train on Saturday! Not sure what for. It is a cute town but we soon passed through it out onto the marshes. There are perhaps a little too many of these - it seemed a long morning - but in lovely sunshine it all looked gorgeous. All sorts of wading birds, some swallows, a few sea asters and some golden samphire. Lovely views across to the Isle of Wight.

    By the time we got to civilisation in the form of the Gun Inn, it was 2pm. It was busy but we managed to nab one sunny and one shady table in the garden. Food came remarkably quickly. I think the entire group lunched there - ie no picknickers, a thing unheard of since the late Middle Ages.

    After lunch four walked the impressive shingle spit to Hurst Castle. One caught a ferry from there and later met us on the bus to Lymington. The remaining six walkers carried on along the coast in search of a swimming spot. We found one midway between Milton and Barton, a lovely unspoiled strand backed by colourful beach huts. Five swam here, two briefly, three for longer, in a somewhat wavy sea. There was a strong easterly current, but after a deep bit near the shore an unexpected sandbank further out that meant one could always touch the bottom.

    Back on dry land the Hurst Castle and swimming parties reunited and we walked in lovely golden sun to Barton. This coast is rapidly crumbling, but very scenic, with lovely views to the Needles and the Isle of Purbeck (which actually looks like an island from this angle).

    We had half an hour in the clifftop garden of the Beachcomber cafe bar before getting the 18.34 X1 bus to Lymington, a 35 minute journey. Here we had a mad dash to get supplies from the Tesco Express (inevitably at the top of the only steep hill for miles), and then got the 19.29 train home, enjoying wine, beer, hummus and cheerful chat all the way back to the city.

Wednesday 07-Sep-16

Thomas G
SWC Walk 62 Lymington to Barton-on-Sea (+ bus to New Milton station – or a 2.5 km walk)
Length: 16.9 km (10.5 mi) [longer options possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 104m; Net Walking Time: 3 ½ hours
Toughness: 2/10
Take the 09.35 Weymouth train from Waterloo ( not stopping CJ ), change Brockenhurst [arrives 11.04 (Platform 3), departs 11.12 (Platform 4)]; arrives Lymington Town 11.20.
Buy a cheap off-peak day return to New Milton for £16 on the SWT-website or at the station ticket office (but not the machines) before midnight the night before.
You may have to buy a single extension Brockenhurst – Lymington Town on the train.
(Fast) return trains from New Milton are on xx.37 (journey time 1 ¾ hours).
A delightful and varied coastal walk starting at the attractive seaside town of Lymington in the New Forest. Passing by the colourful quay and yacht basin, the route joins the Solent Way which winds through tranquil salt marshes and a nature reserve, where many different types of birds and wildflowers can be spotted. After lunch there is a short stretch of esplanade walking followed by a very gentle cliff top path with fine views of the Needles and the Isle of Wight. Tea is at the Beachcomber Café which has a lawned outside seating area overlooking the sea. This is an easy, fairly flat walk and the directions are straightforward and consequently minimal.
There are reported to be excellent swimming opportunities all along the stretch of coast from the Needles café (possible lunch stop) onwards. However the very best spot for a swim, if you like sandy beaches, is right at the end. Take the wide sloping concrete path down to the beach, just to the left of the Beachcomber Café and turn right once you reach the beach. After following the shoreline for 400m and two breakwaters you will find a half-sandy beach, i.e. pebble bank and sandy shore below. Further beyond is a rather spectacularly situated cliff top café with panoramic views: The Pebble Beach.
Walk Options:
You can walk out-and-back to Hurst Castle along a spit out in to the sea between the Solent and the Isle of White with commanding views (adds 5 km).
But you can catch a ferry out to the spit from Keyhaven harbour, and only walk back along it (adds 1.5 km net).
You can walk from Barton-on-Sea to New Milton station, rather than waiting for the bus which doesn't connect well with the train (adds 2.5 km).
Lunch O ptions:
The Gun Inn , Keyhaven (01590 642 391). Located 9.3 km from the start of the walk. This is the pub lunch stop. It’s just back from the coast after the yacht club car park.
The Marine , Milford-on-Sea. A large art deco cafe bar just behind the coast path, 10.7 km from the start. Try the roof terrace - the ground floor cafe doesn't have a sea view.
The Needles Eye Café , Milford-on-Sea (01590 642 458). Recommended. Located 10.8 km from the start of the walk.
Tea Options:
Beachcomber Café and The Pebble Beach (the "No. 1 place to eat by the sea in the south" Sunday Torygraph, 07/16), both on Marine Drive in Barton-on-Sea.
For summary, map, height profile, photos, walk directions/options and gpx/kml files click here .
T=swc.62
  • Thu, 08-Sep-16

    2 Sunny and almost too hot An overcast journey, but just 2 arrived at the seaside in glorious sunshine using the £16 offer. Stopped at a seaside cafe in Milton. Made it to Barton in time for tea at the cliff top cafe. Interesting, 'beach hut' beach, and an almost inaccessible beach between the two. 1 had a swim, 1 didn't. Great coast walk. Thanks to the poster.

  • Marion
    Sat, 10-Sep-16

    Thomas I didn't see this walk posted and had a prior walk booked with the Totally Thames festival. So hot my feet blistered and bled. Wish I'd seen you post earlier as could have cancelled and cooled off with a swim. This is a fantastic area for views and swims. Sorry I missed it.