FACTFINDER’S CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Ill- fated attempt by Scotland to establish a colony in Central America ( 6,7) 10 Attempt by a horse to throw its rider ( 9) 11 Happen later, or as a result ( 5) 12 The windpipe ( 7) 13 A metallic element of the platinum group ( 7) 14 Small town in Moray ( pop about 1,200), with four distilleries ( 6) 16 The uppermost petal of a papilinaceous flower ( 8) 18 Spanish port city ( pop about 70,000), a popular tourist destination ( 8) 20 The hero of an epic poem by Virgil ( 6) 23 Carl __ ( 1865 - 1931), a Danish composer, violinist and conductor ( 7) 24 Small town in southern Switzerland ( pop about 16,000), near the border with Italy ( 7) 26 Lake in north- west Russia ( 3,700 sq miles), the second largest in Europe ( 5) 27 A medieval military engine for launching stones, etc ( 9) 28 Major horse race in the US, part of the Triple Crown ( 8,5)

DOWN

2 Small family car, manufactured by Vauxhall Motors since 1979 ( 5) 3 Historic novel ( 1819) by Sir Walter Scott, set in the 12th century ( 7) 4 Large South African antelopes 6) 5 Express great loathing for ( 8) 6 Bind by conditions, etc ( 3,4) 7 Banish from a college for a time ( 9) 8 London- born cartoonist, Illustrator and artist ( 1872 - 1944) ( 5,8) 9 Semi- casual trousers with a hem one inch above the knee ( 7,6) 15 US state ( 42,224 sq miles; pop 7 million), sometimes called the Big Bend State ( 9) 17 Delirious, mad or distracted ( 8) 19 A discourse on a theme ( 7) 21 Remove from consideration ( 7) 22 A recess for church vessels ( 6) 25 Make fit after disablement, etc ( abbrev) ( 5)