 The county of Clwyd is in the northeastern corner of Wales . It is bounded by the Irish Sea to the north , the Welsh counties of <unk> to the west and Powys to the south , and the English counties of Shropshire and Cheshire to the southeast and east respectively ; much of the eastern boundary follows the course of the River Dee and its estuary . Other large rivers in the county include the River Alyn , a tributary of the Dee , the River Clwyd and the River Conwy in the west . The northern coastal strip of the county is heavily developed for tourism and has many resorts , including Llandudno , Colwyn Bay , Colwyn , Abergele , Rhyl and Prestatyn . In the northeast lies Deeside , the coastal plain beside the Dee estuary , and this part of Clwyd is heavily developed for industry . The area around Wrexham and the commuter settlements close to Chester are also heavily built up . 
