Unlocking the Gate

There are reports of Cara's Bar opening at the Clwyd Gate. A trip up there yesterday (to see what was going on) indicated that there was nothing going on. Part of the former restaurant building did have window coverings to ensure there was no snooping but there appeared no sign of any work. 

There were certainly no vehicles there. Well, none other than mine. The owners now operate the site as a pay-by-phone car park, though we don't really know why. Just who are they expecting to park there? A few walkers, perhaps. The former motel, since February 2022 bookable at fairly painful rates through Airbnb, has its own private parking. 

Anyway, the site owner did get an hour's worth from me. The rate is £1.50 per hour. It wasn't worth chancing it: there were automatic number plate recognition cameras present and if you wonder whether these are operative, who knows. But the infrared sensors were working and the penalty for not paying was £100. 

The former restaurant now appears to have been purchased and the owner has split or is splitting the site into separate leased businesses. Hence Cara's Bar. The whole site's been renamed the 'Clwyd Gate Village' though there's no reference to this on site. As we say, nothing appears to be happening, yet. 

Facebook would suggest that people cannot understand why it's taken so long to see signs of life (not that there were any yesterday). People generally seem very sentimental about the times they've had there, and for good reason: I myself recall one especially memorable family gathering at the Clwyd Gate. 

But it's easy to get carried away on waves of nostalgia. Could the reality be different for any new business opening there? There have been several reasons why the place has been hard to let. It's idyllic location works both for and against it: great views but on the fringes of Rhuthun/Ruthin and arguably too far from Yr Wyddgrug/Mold. People seem less prepared to travel for food these days. We're in an era when there's very little money around. And, of course, it's been closed most recently more often than open.