Published in the Autumn 2026 Edition of the Gander.
Use the image flip icon to quickly reveal the answers, or download PDF's of the puzzle and the full answer sheet here so you can print and play/complete it at home:
ARABLE - This means arable land, and to plough it is to cultivate it.
3
A prickly weight is half a faithful local landmark (8)
THORNTON - Prickly=thorn Weight=Ton, the other half is Abbey
4
The village agenda is often this (4)
MOOT - "moot" generally means to bring up an idea for discussion, or it describes a topic that is open to debate.
5
This occasionally pops up, now the Hunt is over (3)
PUB - Pop Up Pubs! and references the loss of our last pub the Brocklesby Hunt.
6
The best log is one to... (4)
BURN - Goxhill is full of log burners always eyeing up a log, thinking “can I burn that?”
7
The educated road closer. (6)
BADGER - The closure and repair of college road (educated road) was caused by Badgers
8
Where the birds aren't made of clay and fly high (6)
DAWSON - Dawson RSPBB nature reserve was formerly clay pits.
9
You are in it now for free! (6)
GANDER - The Gander is delivered free to every home in our village.
10
Region lacking hills or peaks (8)
LOWLANDS
11
Crazy theory for how the village was named (6)
CUCKOO - One arguable theory is that the name Goxhill itself literally translates from Old English/Old Norse to mean "Hill of the Cuckoo" (or Gaukr's hill).
12
Best Kept what? (7)
VILLAGE - The competition that is run every year, and we aim to enter the large Village category.
13
The only compass point this farm needs (5)
MARSH - There is an East Marsh Farm, but none North South or West
14
How many to Our Saint's peel? (3)
SIX - This is the number of bells in All Saints Church and all ring a peel.
15
A bright red shade we need 21 more of! (6)
CHERRY - We are currently applying to fund replacement of 21 Cherry Trees (article in this edition).
16
North or South (3)
END - North End and South End of the village.
17
Initials of the fierce group behind the book exchange (2)
WI - without their efforts neither the Library or book exchanges would exist.
18
The double venue street, for hire (6)
CHAPEL - Both the Memorial Hall and the Schoolroom in the Chapel, also available for hire, reside on Chapel Street.
19
Who swept 2025 short (3)
AMY - Amy Shephardson won the 2025 village Short Award with the biggest landslide victory in Gander-run history.
ACROSS
1
Meat lovers get the best slice of this from the East (3)
COW - Referring to the best British Beef available from East Marsh Farm.
2
Displayed on the line (3)
ART - There are 2 recent installations at the train station, one by the Primary School and a mosaic
3
Occupiers of Goxhill's Station 345 (5)
USAAF
4
Tall 5G eyesore or 14thC beauty (5)
TOWER - 5G tower on the entrance to the village and the All Saints Church Tower
5
Our wettest northern boundary (6)
HUMBER - Goxhill stretches all the way to the river Humber
6
One wheeling ancient grave (6)
BARROW - Is our closest neighbouring village and a barrow is an ancient burial mound used to cover a grave.
7
Low wetlands tamed by our dykes (4)
FENS - Before the vast network of drainage ditches (dykes) and the modern pumping stations were built, the low-lying areas of Goxhill-especially heading out toward the Humber were essentially wild, waterlogged wetlands. They are fens by definition.
8
It's peculiar to a specific area (7)
DIALECT - A local form of speech spoken in a particular region.
10
Stretching from the Humber to the Wash (12)
LINCOLNSHIRE
11
What's Best in the village (4)
RAWS - Raw's Best is a village store in the heart of the village.
12
Natural product once baked on the Haven (4)
CLAY - If you solved 8 down this should already be in mind.
13
Gousle's earliest tax return (8)
DOMESDAY - Gousle's 1086 registration document was William the Conqueror finding out how much everyone owed him.
14
This shade has one dated, one ramped (5)
GREEN - Referencing the Green Ramper and Millennium Green
15
Tree once common in our hedgerows, or a lane (3)
ELM - Elm lane is a prominent street name here. Elm trees were a defining feature of English hedgerows until Dutch Elm Disease wiped most of them out in the late 20th century.
16
Cultivated and arty standing place (7)
STATION - There are art installations and 17 planters and at the train station.
PUZZLE MAKERS
Are you a Puzzle maker?
Are you a puzzle maker?, then send it in!We have now tried our very first crossword, and hopefully it has been well recieved. All going well, we would like to publish a new puzzle every quarter. Answers to puzzles will be published on this page on the official release date of the Gander (1st March, 1st June, 1st September and 1st December). You can submit your puzzle online on the "Get involved > Submit articles page, or email the Assistant Editor directly.
Looking back through the earliest Gander issues, things like word games, word searches, jokes and activity features like Kids corner were once a staple of the Gander. These features seem to have disappeared over the years, so we are looking to bring some of the fun back. It doesn't have to be a crossword, perhaps a good old code breaker, word search or even a quiz!
