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Mr Tin Box loves acting like a big kid under the pretence of entertaining the girls. So it was no surprise that when we visited the New Forest and had the opportunity to go crabbing at Lymington Harbour he jumped at the chance. Lymington is a market town popular with sailors, cyclists and walkers. It’s also a great place to go crabbing in Hampshire.

Crabbing in Lymington with kids

We were staying near Lymington on the edge of the New Forest. It’s one of our favourite places to visit in the area because of the Saturday market and the picturesque town and harbour. 

There’s always plenty of people crabbing down at the harbour wall. Mr TB had obviously filed this information for future reference and was quick to suggest this as our Saturday morning activity during our stay.

Essential crabbing kit

We bought Tin Box Tot a bucket, line, bait and a net from one of the tourist shops on the way to the harbour for £4.50 and headed for the wall. 

If you want to stock up on crabbing essentials before you hit the harbour wall then you can find buckets, nets and crabbing lines on Amazon.

Within five minutes we had caught a crab. It was a bit of a sorry looking crustacean with a claw and two legs missing. Never-the-less Mr TB was pleased with his catch and Tot was suitably interested in the ‘cab’.

Mr Tin Box then spent the next 40 minutes trying to catch another. By this point Tot was more interested in swinging the net at our heads!

Where to eat in Lymington

We decided to call it a day and released our crab back into the water. Our next stop was the Ship Inn for lunch. It’s right on the marina and attracts lots of custom from the yachting community throughout the year.

Two fish finger sandwiches and a child’s pasta dish cost us £22.

Of course, a New Forest day out here would not be complete without a New Forest ice-cream which we picked up  at one of the cafes round the corner from the Ship Inn. Even I don’t mind using the toddler as an excuse to enjoy an ice-cream!

What do you enjoy doing with your family that you might not get away with on your own?

More ideas for things to do in Hampshire with kids

Check out more posts with inspiration for family days out in Hampshire. Or what about visiting the neighbouring cities? Here’s our favourite things to do in Portsmouth and what to do in Southampton with kids.

You might also like my posts about days out in Devon, things to do in Dorset and what to do with kids in Cornwall.

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