Lymington Town & Boldre
New Forest 017 · 5 sub-areas · 8,490 residents
New Forest 017, in the heart of New Forest district, is home to around 8,490 people and sits firmly at the quieter, more settled end of the district. A typical two-bedroom property lets for about £1,123 a month — roughly in line with the national median — but house prices here are exceptionally high, with a median sale price approaching £820,000.
Lymington Town & Boldre is a settled residential pocket of New Forest. The bigger gravitational centre is London, around 113 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for. The population skews older, with a long-settled feel and a high share of retirees; most homes are owner-occupied, so turnover is low and many residents have been here a long time.
Overview
What's it like to live in Lymington Town & Boldre?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; there's effectively nothing within walking distance — eating out, drinking and shopping mean a drive; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,234 a month for a typical home.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Lymington Town & Boldre in New Forest
Living in Lymington Town & Boldre
New Forest 017 has the character of deeply rural southern England — low density, high owner-occupation, and a population skewed noticeably older than almost anywhere else in the South East. Over a third of residents are aged 65 or above, which shapes everything from the pace of the streets to the availability of rental stock. This isn't a neighbourhood in the city-district sense; it's a slice of the New Forest where most people own their homes and have lived here for years.
The cost picture is complicated. Monthly rents look reasonable on the surface — around £857 for a one-bedroom, £1,123 for a two-bedroom, and £1,379 for a three-bedroom — but the rent-to-take-home ratio tells a harder story. With median resident salaries around £31,300 a year, renters here are spending roughly 61% of take-home pay on rent, which is a significant squeeze. Buying is even more daunting: at a median price of around £820,000, it would take about 13 years just to save a deposit on a typical local salary.
The people who live here are predominantly homeowners — around 67% own their property outright or with a mortgage — with a relatively small private rental market at about 24% of households. The population is ethnically homogeneous, with almost 90% born in the UK, and well-qualified: over 41% hold a degree-level qualification. One-person households account for more than a third of all homes, partly a reflection of the older age profile.
Practically speaking, the nearest mainline rail station is about 1.7 km away, and public transport is limited; nearly half of residents commute by car, and more than a third work from home. The area's greenspace is one of its genuine strengths, with the nearest green space under 550 metres away on average and over 40% of residents within easy walking distance of open land. See the streets and sub-areas below for more.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is New Forest 017 a nice place to live?
- It depends what you're after. If you want countryside, space, low crime and a settled community, it delivers. The greenspace is genuinely excellent, with open land within easy walking distance for most residents. The trade-off is limited public transport, a very small rental market, and house prices that are among the highest in the region — close to £820,000 at the median.
- What is the rent in New Forest 017?
- A one-bedroom typically costs around £857 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,123, and a three-bedroom around £1,379. These are estimates scaled from district-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose about 2.4% in the past year. The affordability squeeze is real — renters on local salaries spend roughly 61% of take-home pay on rent.
- Is New Forest 017 safe?
- Yes, relatively. The area records around 70 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, modestly below the UK national average of roughly 80. The settled, older, predominantly owner-occupied population and low urban density keep crime rates contained. It's among the lower-risk parts of the South East.
- What's the commute from New Forest 017 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.7 km away. From there, London is around two hours by public transport. Nearly half of residents drive to work, and over a third work from home entirely. Public transport options are limited — this is car country.
- Who lives in New Forest 017?
- Predominantly older homeowners. Over a third of residents are aged 65 or above, and two-thirds own their home. It's a well-qualified population — around 42% hold a degree — but the rental market is small and the demographic skews significantly older than most of the South East.
- What schools are near New Forest 017?
- There are 16 schools within 2 km of the typical resident, but only around 30% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. The nearest Outstanding school is about 2.3 km away. It's worth checking individual school inspection reports, as quality varies and catchment boundaries matter here.
- Is New Forest 017 affordable to buy in?
- Not particularly. The median sale price is close to £820,000, and on a local median salary of around £31,300 a year, it would take roughly 13 years to save a deposit. It's one of the more expensive pockets of the district, reflecting strong demand for New Forest property and very limited housing supply.