 Clwyd is bordered by the preserved counties of Gwynedd to the west , Powys to the south , Shropshire to the south @-@ east , Cheshire to the east and Merseyside over the River Dee . Since the 2003 boundary changes , its coastline has extended from the Dee Estuary in Flintshire through to Llanfairfechan in Conwy . Clwyd consists of the whole of the historic county of Flintshire , and most of Denbighshire . Since 2003 it has also included the former district of Aberconwy , which lies in the historic county of Caernarfonshire , and also Edeyrnion Rural District which was previously part of the historic county of Merionethshire . 
