Lymington, United Kingdom

A sheltered haven that's become one of the busiest leisure harbours on the south coast LYMINGTON is also the most pleasant point of access for the Isle of Wight. Rising from the quay area, the old town is full of cobbled streets and Georgian houses and has one unusual building – the partly thirteenth-century church of St Thomas the Apostle, with a cupola-topped tower built in 1670.

Places to stay in town include Durlston House, Gosport St (Tel:01590/677364, Web: www.durlstonhouse.co.uk ; Price: £61-70), a smart and clean townhouse, and The Angel Inn, 108 High St (Tel:01590/672050, Web: www.roomattheinn.info ; Price: £71-90), an old coaching stop with functional rooms. Among Lymington's excellent pubs, all of which serve decent bar meals, try Chequers on Ridgeway Lane, on the west side of town, the Bosun's Chair, Station Rd, and the harbourfront Ship Inn, with seats outside looking over the water.