Clyde

Clyde grew in the 1862 Dunstan gold rush and its centre is a compact grid of buildings in local schist - the stone splits into flat slabs, so walls are laid in horizontal courses that give Central Otago towns their particular look. Unusually, the historic core survived largely intact: the town declined rather than being rebuilt, and when the Clyde Dam was constructed in the 1980s it was Cromwell's old centre upstream that went under Lake Dunstan, not Clyde's. The dam sits just above the village. Clyde is the western terminus of the Otago Central Rail Trail, which brings a steady flow of cyclists, and it has become a food and wine stop with restaurants out of proportion to its size. The Clutha runs green and fast beside it, and the Clutha Gold and Lake Dunstan trails connect here too, making it a hub of the Central Otago cycle network.

History

Clyde was founded in the Otago gold rush of the early 1860s, its post office dating from 1863, and as Dunstan it could once claim to be the most populous town in New Zealand at the height of the rush. The post office, and so the town, was renamed Clyde on 22 May 1865 after Lord Clyde, and St Dunstan's Church, designed by Francis William Petre, was built in 1903 (Wikipedia, Clyde, New Zealand).

What you'll find

• The schist buildings - the intact 1860s stone core.
• The Clyde Dam - directly above the village on the Clutha.
• The Rail Trail terminus - the western end of the Otago Central.
• The river - the Clutha running green and fast past the town.

When to go

Any season; April for autumn colour, which Central Otago does well. Summer is very hot and dry. The Rail Trail is busiest October to April.

Practical notes

It is small - half a day covers it. Restaurants book out in cycling season. Central Otago summers are hot with little shade; winters are cold and frosty.

Nearby

Alexandra is downstream; Cromwell and the Bannockburn wineries are north.

Key facts