Work has just begun on anew section of an early part of a cycleway that has the potential to link Rhuthun/Ruthin with Dinbych. Highways staff at the depot Lôn Parcwr have confirmed as much. The current phase will link Rhewl south to the livestock mart, whereupon cyclists can join the existing route via the northern relief road towards Tesco. All this on a reserved path not open to traffic (though it will be shared with pedestrians).
This will be a poor relation to the proposed Rhuthun i'r Rhyl "Lôn Clwyd" cycleway that for the most part was to use the old railway track bed and would have linked north towards Y Rhyl. Remember that? Denbighshire started consultations on Lôn Clwyd in 1998 followed by a study and further consultation a year later. In fact, I reckon that the idea actually originated in Clwyd County Council days.
Lôn Clwyd would have been the one thing that, had it got off the ground, would have reconverted me to cycling. It was flat and, crucially, away from major roads and that made it safe and pleasant. The rail track bed was, however, in private ownership and landowners along the proposed route conspired to kill the plan. Such a selfish move resulted from fears of local crime, giving access to thieves to hitherto inaccessible rural properties. Comic visions of thieving little Scousers come to mind, peddling furiously along a completed Lôn Clwyd with someone's TV strapped to their parcel shelf, then breathlessly ascending the Clwyd Gate before free-wheeling their way back to the Birkenhead tunnel!
Back to the current scheme, going north from Rhewl, as a former drovers' road, the A525 benefits from significantly wide verges and highways staff confirm that the longer-term aim is to use these as a cycleway. Interestingly, Denbighshire's appointed Lôn Clwyd consultant felt that the verges were of insufficient width, hence the 1999 plan to adopt the former railway alignment. The length of Lôn Clwyd between Y Rhyl, Rhuddlan and St Asaph. The stretch twixt Y Rhyl and Rhuddlan is largely as envisaged in 1999.
There is a significant pinch point on the current route to overcome, at Rhewl bridge. Otherwise, it seems plain sailing till Brookehouse. While nowhere near as isolated and quiet as Lôn Clwyd, it will have the benefit of being close to communities and this might ensure a greater use other than just for leisure purposes.
Click to expand. The pecked red line is the preferred route from Rhewl to Rhuthun (on the old railway). The pecked purple line is an alternative as considered at the time (and now under construction). Green lines are footpaths. Note the land earmarked for Glasdir
Back to the current scheme, going north from Rhewl, as a former drovers' road, the A525 benefits from significantly wide verges and highways staff confirm that the longer-term aim is to use these as a cycleway. Interestingly, Denbighshire's appointed Lôn Clwyd consultant felt that the verges were of insufficient width, hence the 1999 plan to adopt the former railway alignment. The length of Lôn Clwyd between Y Rhyl, Rhuddlan and St Asaph. The stretch twixt Y Rhyl and Rhuddlan is largely as envisaged in 1999.
There is a significant pinch point on the current route to overcome, at Rhewl bridge. Otherwise, it seems plain sailing till Brookehouse. While nowhere near as isolated and quiet as Lôn Clwyd, it will have the benefit of being close to communities and this might ensure a greater use other than just for leisure purposes.