Lymington to Bucklers Hard

Launch Point: Lymington

Mission Statement: Visit Bucklers Hard – and enjoy the scenic river and the beautiful and historic location.

Trail Introduction

This trail from Lymington takes in a long sail in the wide channel of the Western Solent and then turns into a quite challenging sail up a beautiful river to arrive at Bucklers Hard. The cruise requires a high tide at lunchtime to get up and back down the Beaulieu River. By launching from Lymington on a Spring Tide there will be favourable tidal flows on both the outbound and return legs.

Interesting fact: Bucklers Hard is a well known and historically purpose built boatbuilding location – where boats that fought in the Battle of Trafalgar were made.

Round Trip Distance: 25 miles

Approximate Time that the Trail will take: 2.5 hours there, then some lunch, then 2.5 hours back In a Wayfarer or similar in F4 winds

OS Map or Chart: Imray chart C15

Trail Details

Lymington to Bucklers Hard map
Image: Lymington to Bucklers Hard map
Permitted use of Openseamap under the “Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0” license
This map is for information use only, not for navigation.
Lymington to Bucklers Hard map - leaving Lymington
Image: Lymington to Bucklers Hard map – leaving Lymington
Lymington to Bucklers Hard map - Entering Beaulieu River
Image: Lymington to Bucklers Hard map – Entering Beaulieu River
Lymington to Bucklers Hard map - Approaching Bucklers Hard
Image: Lymington to Bucklers Hard map – Approaching Bucklers Hard
Bucklers Hard map - detailed landing map
Image: Bucklers Hard map – detailed landing map
Lymington-to-Bucklers-HardDownload
  1. Launch from Lymington Bath Road Public Slipway. Sail out of the Lymington River, avoiding the cross-Solent ferries and other traffic, and head for the middle of the Solent if conditions are right – to take the flood tide towards the Beaulieu River entrance. On the way out of the river entrance, stay with the channel until the Royal Lymington Yacht Club (RLymYC) sailing race starting platform, then head towards the big Port Hand buoy at about 100 degrees. Stay in the flood tidal flow until your chosen moment when it’s worth aiming for the North shore to enter the Beaulieu River. Look for the Coastguard Station (white building) and usually a lot of yacht masts.
  2. Enter the Beaulieu River, which now runs West and then North. This entrance can get congested in high Summer. and there are many port and starboard posts – there is not much water for a dinghy beyond the line of these posts.
  3. Follow the Beaulieu River, avoiding the mid-channel pontoons and yachts on moorings. The river is very congested with moorings, jetties and pontoons, and the flood can be strong in places.
  4. The Beaulieu River is privately owned, and there are fees to be paid to the owners when landing. Note that landing by visiting dinghies has been prohibited on the shoreline in front of the historic boat-building area since 2016. Before you plan to visit the Beaulieu River in a dinghy, contact the Harbour Office by email or phone them on their phone number. Dinghies will get damaged if they make you tie up to the pontoons as the pontoons are designed for yachts, so ask to land on the Southern side of the slipway on the shore. See their website for the facilities available, including a cafe and toilets. Wait for the tide to turn before beginning the journey back, so that you have the ebb tide under you in the river and in the Western Solent.

    Update March 2026: From the Marketing Manager of Beaulieu Rivers Ltd:

    The Beaulieu River is privately owned and access is managed by the Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour Team.    

    For environmental reasons, landing for any vessel, including dinghies is not permitted anywhere along the Beaulieu River except for the slipway at Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour.

    For details on how to book your landing space and for further information about fees, please visit https://www.beaulieuriver.co.uk/visiting/slipways-launch-fees/.
  5. While it may be tempting to sail into the main ebb stream on the return journey, there’s a chance of overshooting the entrance to the Lymington River, so it’s recommended to stay close to the North Shore – or if you do venture into the ebb tide, be very mindful of making the Lymington Rover entrance – it is very easy to be taken past the entrance and then it may be difficult to work back against the ebb tide. Follow the river back to the slipway.

Refuges – there are no refuges on the Lymington River, North bank of the Solent, nor in the Beaulieu River – landing is prohibited on the spit at the Beaulieu River entrance. The only refuge is at the end when landing at the destination.


Trip Extensions:
It’s a lovely trip extension to sail past the landing location and up the river to the upper reaches, which is tranquil and beautiful.

Tidal Information:
This is a good sail for a Spring Tide.

Best Tides:
lunchtime high tide = 12,13,14,

Toilets:
Very good toilets are at Lymington Bath Road car park, and also at the Beaulieu River Bucklers Hard Yacht Harbour


Page Month Published: March 2025


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