I just found that the hardware on the Access is a step up. Apart from that, I didn't find the actual rod blank to be superior, and I actually preferred the action of the Clearwater, but that's personal taste. Tim knows more because he works w/ the rods more than I do. I used a Clearwater for a small stream outing last year (fishing w/ Sal, he had two of them and let me try one because I was in the market for a 9'5wt) and I enjoyed it very much. I only casted an Access, but not in a "real life" situation (IE-on a stream).
I actually like the idea that someone posted above-for the money of an Access, you can get two Clearwaters in the 3wt and 6wt. I would tend to go this route, get two rods that work great for specific applications, than get one rod that works "okay" for the type of fishing you want to do.