Walk along the Northern Relief Road or "by pass" and you can't help but notice it's a road of contrasts. It's also a busy road and best observed on foot early on a Saturday or Sunday morning when traffic is at its lowest.
Starting at the Denbigh Road end, its existence is marked only by signage erected in the early 1990s when it was a dead end as far as the farmers' market only.
The new part of the road lasts for 7/10 mile. It's completely unlike any other road in Rhuthun/Ruthin, thanks to the former Welsh Development Agency's design. Its well-engineered shallow curves sweep first eastwards, then northwards, unencumbered by parking or pinch points as you find on other town main roads. Compare the "by pass" to other "new" roads in Rhuthun, such as Market Street and Wynnstay Road. Mind you, a weekend public action at the mart will see 4x4s strewn everywhere as if abandoned after heavy snow.
Though within a 30 mph zone, it's easy to see why "by pass" traffic regularly exceeds the limit. The road is open & wide with good visibility. The impression is of an uncluttered, open stretch of highway. The wide pavement & cycleway adds to this expansive feeling. And you sense you are in the countryside rather than suburbs. Things may change upon the completion of Glasdir and upon the industrial development on the northern side—if it ever comes.
The verdant spring growth shields the farmers' market from the road and the housing at Glasdir. Accompanying a brand new ornate litter bin with padlock is an original "by pass" seat facing Clifford Jones's steam. There's often a substantial plume of smoke from Clifford Jones, reminding us that the industrialisation of Lôn Cae Bricks isn't too far away. Indeed, this marker is usually visible from the Clwyd Gate.
We've commented before on the isolated gathering of houses that's Glasdir. With its roadside sentinels, it seems to have parachuted in but missed the town altogether. As Glasdir again gathers pace, like it or not, it's part of the plan to increase Rhuthun's sustainability. The two ponds fronting the development are beginning to clog. The somewhat weed-ridden verges grow luxuriantly but are currently neatly cut at Glasdir by Wimpey. Impressions obviously count. The red & white temporary barriers opposite look increasingly permanent.
Past the oasis that is Glasdir and the road heads due east again. It's here that people get the best middle distance impression of nearby Rhuthun/Ruthin congregating on its hill. And the full glories of the Bryniau Clwyd/the Clwydian Range in front. Untrammelled, unimpeded, close-up and directly ahead, it's more open and panoramic than from any other road in Rhuthun, and only surpassed from the lanes above the Vale to the west.
The "by pass" then bridges the Clwyd though few perhaps recognise what they're crossing. Beneath is a footpath that takes you north towards Plas yn Rhos or along the riverbank towards the playing field and the back of Cae Seren.
It's at this point that the road sweeps south-west, to join the existing Lôn Parcwr, itself new in 1982. As the "by pass" curves round, you start to get an altogether different vista, of industry rather than Arcadia. The road bisects the old council depot.
On the northern side are the tidy new buildings replacing the tired and sprawling huts once huddled haphazardly across the former uneven surfaces. For a working yard, this is well kept. Within are four dustcarts, a handful of lorries, vans & diggers, and sundry equipment. Opposite, the mountain of road salt looks far more optimistic than over the winter but is still dwarfed by what appear to be tippings.To be concluded...
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