Where have all the conkers gone?
They have survived being boiled, baked and soaked in vinegar for decades, but Britain’s conkers have finally succumbed, to a perfect storm of drought, disease and a foreign pest. July’s record temperatures and drought conditions were too much for many of the UK’s horse chestnut trees, which were already under sustained attack from a disease called bleeding canker and the very hungry caterpillars of the leaf miner moth. Tens of thousands of the trees across the country have responded to the threat as trees often do: by refusing to exert the energy needed to produce flowers. And no flowers means no conkers. For the organisers of the World Conker Championships, due to start in Ashton, Northamptonshire, this Sunday, this has been something of a worry. Pete Morris, tournament secretary, says: “We have now collected enough conkers of the right standard and quality. But we had to go much further afield than usual to get them.” The 1,000 conkers required by the 363 registered combatants – 32mm
