Lymington River SSSI

{{Infobox SSSI

|image= Flooded view upstream from Bolderford Bridge, New Forest - geograph.org.uk - 172553.jpg

|image_caption = Ober Water (left) and the Highland Water (right) merge to form the Lymington River

|name= Lymington River

|aos= Hampshire

|interest=Biological
Geological

|gridref={{gbmappingsmall|SU 300 015}}

|area= {{convert|34.8|ha|acre|abbr=off}}

|notifydate= 1997

|map=[https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%272000203%27 Magic Map]

}}

Lymington River SSSI is a {{convert| 34.8 |ha|acre|abbr=off |adj=on }} biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest along Lymington River and its tributaries between Lymington, Burley and Stoney Cross in Hampshire.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S2000203&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Lymington River| series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 14 May 2020}}{{cite web|url= https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%272000203%27|title=Map of Lymington River|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 14 May 2020}} Highland Water is a Geological Conservation Review site{{cite web|url= http://archive.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=2875|title= Highland Water (Fluvial Geomorphology of England)|series= Geological Conservation Review|publisher= Joint Nature Conservation Committee|accessdate= 21 April 2020}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and Ober Water is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.{{cite book|editor-first=Derek |editor-last=Ratcliffe |title=A Nature Conservation Review|volume=2 |page= 168|authorlink=Derek Ratcliffe |publisher= Cambridge University Press|location =Cambridge, UK |year=1977|isbn= 0521-21403-3 }} Parts of the site are in The New Forest and Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar sites,{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK11063&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Solent and Southampton Water | series= Ramsar Site|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 23 April 2020}}{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK11047&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: The New Forest | series= Ramsar Site|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 23 April 2020}} and in The New Forest Special Protection Area.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK9011031&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title= Designated Sites View: The New Forest | series= Special Protection Areas |publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 23 April 2020}}

This site covers the river and its tributaries Highland Water, Ober Water and Mill Lawn Brook, and no other system in England shows such a rapid succession of plant communities in such a short stretch of river. Ober Water has a very unusual and diverse flora and several rare and protected species of dragonfly. Highland Water is important for illustrating fluvial processes in rivers in southern England which have not been subject to modification.{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/2000203.pdf |title=Lymington River citation|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 14 May 2020}}