The 1999 Trail organised by Letchworth NWR

Five scientists, unrelated yet closely associated, and whose names will be long remembered - Ernest, Alfred, Dmitri, Enrico, and one other - what's his surname? A case for Sherlock Holmes, perhaps? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Einstein
A case for Sherlock Holmes - 'Elementary, my dear Watson.' This is a clue to the elementary nature of this question. The four scientists named are Ernest Lawrence, Alfred Nobel, Dmitri Mendeleyev and Enrico Fermi, and all will be long remembered, because they each have an element named after them (the last 5 elements in the actinide series). Lawrencium is atomic number 103, nobelium is no.102, mendelevium is no.101, fermium is no.100, and einsteinium is no.99, so the fifth man is Einstein. These five men are all unrelated, and worked in different sciences at different times, but are all closely associated, as the elements named after them are adjacent in the Periodic Table, which can be found in most encyclopaedias. A further clue was the word 'unrelated', a reference to Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
This President might have been safer on the Witham. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Lincoln (Abraham)
President Lincoln of the USA was assassinated, and the town of Lincoln in England lies on the River Witham.
It took a Frenchman to paint the 'town' white. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Utrillo
From 1909 to 1914 Utrillo painted with a greatly limited palette dominated by shades of white. This period was known as his White Period. Utrillo's canvases of townscapes and cathedrals in Paris won him a worldwide reputation. 'Paint the town white' is a variant on 'Paint the town red', but we put 'town' in inverted commas as Paris is a city.
Whose 'Highwayman came riding, riding, riding, up to the old inn door'?REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Noyes
This is a line from the popular poem 'The Highwayman' by English poet, playwright and novelist Alfred Noyes (1880-1959).
An expert on smells. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Olfactologist
A straightforward clue, not cryptic. Things to do with the sense of smell are olfactory, and the suffix -(o)logist is used of an expert in his or her field, eg psychologist, gynaecologist.
She is like a red rag to a bull - honestly! REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Veronica
In bullfighting, the passes a matador makes with his cloak are called veronicas, and it is a girl's name. The word veronica also comes from the Latin term vera icon, meaning true image, hence the use of the word honestly. (Vera icon is to do with the picture of the face of Christ said to have been impressed upon the handkerchief of St Veronica.)
It sounds as if Tim's penpal found our tablecloth. He must have dropped it on his way - where? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Damascus
Tim's penpal - the letters of St Paul to Timothy - Paul (or Saul at the time) was converted on the way to Damascus, which sounds like 'damask us' - our tablecloth?
Nobel prize-winner who took a rest on the heather at teatime? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Kipling
Took a rest - a kip - on the heather - otherwise known as ling - Rudyard Kipling won the Nobel prize for literature in 1907, and the other Mr Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes for teatime.
We heard it was where Miss Shaw took a turn with one of the Famous Five.REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Round the Horne (use the initial letter of the first word)
'We heard' was to hint at a radio programme from the past; Miss Shaw was Sandy Shaw, a pop singer of the 60's; one of the Famous Five was Julian. Julian and Sandy were two rather camp characters, played by Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick, from the 60's BBC Radio programme Round the Horne, (hence the phrase 'took a turn') presented by Kenneth Horne. It has been on the Radio again recently.
Companion to the Bringer of Jollity has joined the EU perhaps? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Europa
The Bringer of Jollity is the planet Jupiter, from Holst's 'The Planets'. One of Jupiter's moons (a companion) is called Europa, hence the reference to the EU.
Whose notable place of worship can be found under water?REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Debussy
'Notable' gives a clue to the musical theme of this clue. Debussy wrote a piece entitled 'La Cathédrale Engloutie', or The Sunken Cathedral.
Cheeky youth meets depressed Northern playwright who has lost direction - horny creature! REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Impala
A cheeky youth is an imp, the depressed Northern playwright is Alan (Bennett), who has lost direction by losing the 'N' (North) from the end of Alan, leaving ala. When the two meet, that gives impala, which is a horny creature.
Check this reptile. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Monitor
A monitor is a type of lizard or reptile, and to monitor something means to check it.
Young doc phones home - for information! REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Internet
The abbreviation 'doc' for doctor tends to be an American habit, and a young American doctor is called an intern. The catch-phrase in the film ET, about an extraterrestrial stuck on earth ,was 'ET phone home'. Intern plus ET makes Internet, which is where you will find lots of information.
Diplomatic, refined, intelligent, thoughtful, warm & social - on balance! REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Libra(n)
The qualities listed are supposedly those shared by people born under the astrological sign of Libra, which is shown by the scales, or balance.
Salome's scribe sounds mad. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Wilde (Oscar)
'Salome' was scribed or written by Oscar Wilde, and his name, Wilde, sounds like the word wild, which can mean angry or mad.
Was this Shakespearian lover based on a nightmare Spartan general? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Lysander
One Lysander was a character from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', (hence the reference to a nightmare) and another Lysander was a military leader from Sparta in Ancient Greece (d.395 BC). His name is familiar from the song 'The British Grenadiers': 'Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules, Of Hector and Lysander, and such great names as these.'
This spice could be addictive, and in another form, could take your breath away. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Mace
Mace is a spice, and is the outer covering of nutmeg. Both contain chemicals related to the narcotic morphine, and if taken in large enough quantities, could be similarly addictive. Another form of mace is the aerosol spray used as a form of self-defence, to squirt in the face of the attacker, which has the effect of taking his or her breath away.
For use with betting chips? Of course! REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Epsom salts (use the initial letter of the first word)
You put salt on chips, but betting chips implies something to do with gambling. 'Of course' was intended to hint at a race course. Epsom has a famous race course, and thus Epsom salts, the well-known remedy.
Note Eric's new buildings. REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Erections
The word 'new' was to suggest an anagram, and if you rearrange the letters in 'note Eric's', you get the word 'erections', which are indeed buildings.
Change the metal used in musical box? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Nickel
Nickel is a metal, and the US coin known as a nickel is a unit of small change. A nickelodeon is a type of 'musical box', usually known as a juke box now, and was so called because you had to operate them by putting a nickel in the slot, as in the old song: 'Put another nickel in, In the nickelodeon, All I want is loving you and music, music, music.'
What is the name of a whist or bridge hand with no card above a 9? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Yarborough
Said to be so called because an Earl of Yarborough used to bet 1,000 to 1 against its occurrence.
Book transport - in SW4? REVEAL ANSWER

Answer: Omnibus.
A book can be an omnibus, and an omnibus is also a form of transport. There is a saying about the man on the Clapham omnibus - he was once thought to be the 'average' man; we might say the 'man in the street', whose opinion might be sought by politicians and the like. Clapham is in London SW4.