Overview
Drysdale is a pretty farming community 16km east of Geelong on the Bellarine peninsula. Named after one of the early European Scottish farming pioneers to settle in the area (Anne Drysdale), the town is today large enough to merge into the nearby community of Clifton Springs.
Drysdale grew up around the Buck's Head Hotel (now called the Drysdale) and an early shipping pier that allowed transport of farm produce by ship to Geelong and Melbourne. Several schools, two flax mills and an asparagus factory soon followed.
The fertile soil of the area now promotes wineries and rolling farmlands, many cosy B'Bs and farm-stays.
Drysdale's proximity to the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay on one side, and the wilder Bass Strait ocean on the other, provide visitors with a mixture of beaches, boating and water activities year round; plus access to fresh fish and farm produce and wonderful views across to the You Yang mountains or the Melbourne skyline on a clear day.
