Craigieburn Forest Park

In winter, this Canterbury spot is popular with skiers, but year round it’s a place where you can have a decent ride on your mountain bike. About 90 minutes from Christchurch, the forest park is dotted with tracks, including the advanced Craigieburn Valley Loop, a 15km track, perfect from which to admire the stunning Southern Alps.

Across

1. Things that are musical may contain contracts for lawyers (11)

8. Give attentive service to a member of the government (8)

9. It will rank, in reverse, with the knot on the tree (4)

10. Takes note of a shed blown up around the East (5)

13. Newspapers showing the clothing of the poor (4)

16. Make one pay heavily to be a heavy drinker (4)

17. The last letter in carbon is of metal (4)

18. The bank will prevent flooding in a handy key-position (4)

20. Manages to descry a rash? (5)

24. It’s the right decoration to go with such a vestment (4)

25. Laid into ruin by such expansion (8)

26. Intriguing against somebody is doing a sapper’s work (11)

Down

2. There isn’t any number one leaves without pigment (4)

3. Discernment with which one may try the food (5)

4. Riding to the finish, turn it over (5)

5. Might rank with leading exponent of the kettledrum (5)

6. Diplomats abroad, mass of whom turn south (11)

7. Bringing a suit against a professional, etc, using such an arrangement (11)

11. It’s no odds it makes things smooth (5)

12. Has the go-ahead maybe to make a military cap (5)

14. A prima donna turned up looking very keen (4)

15. Conservative is to request something to hold his liquor in (4)

19. Alter what was written about me in conclusion (5)

21. It breaks light into colours and rips apart mauve to begin with (5)

22. To coach people for what coaches make up (5)

23. A right to distrain on one ill-advised to show it up (4)