Finally got around to timing myself up the "new" road - 17min23sec.
Happy with that as was looking for a sub 20 minutes, sub 15 would have been nice but I've got a sub 17 to aim at now :-)
Of course riding down the "old" road was as fun as always - perfect weather too! Had to watch out for those pesky cars, one took off in front of me and no overtaking through the "s"s