Time sure flies, I can’t believe it’s already been a year. Welcome everybody to the second annual conker day, a day dedicated to heading outside and collecting as many conkers as you can!

I made a post about this last year, but just in case you didn’t read see it, here’s a recap:

A conker is a colloquial term for a Horse Chestnut, the nut of the Horse Chestnut tree. In the northern hemisphere, especially in the UK, these trees can be found all over the place and are so common that objects such as conkers have become a significant item of our culture. In the autumn, the chestnut tree drops its nuts onto the ground. Whilst protected by a large green spiky shell, upon impact the shell splits open revealing a chestnut brown nut inside: the conker!

This is, however, a science platform, so here are the more specific scientific details about the tree:

Aesculus Hippocastanum – Horse Chestnut Tree

The Aesculus Hippocastanum belongs to the Sapindaceae family, the same family as Maple and Soapberry trees. The trees are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in Autumn and regrow them again in the Spring. The trees can grow to be up to 40 metres tall and grow hundreds of leaves which are each around 20cm long.

The nuts of the horse chestnut tree, the conker, are around 3cm in diameter. They are a deep chestnut colour except for a white circle which is a different texture completely from the rest. Conkers have several uses but are most well known for the eponymous game: Conkers, where a string is attached to the nut and they are smacked into each other repeatedly (the loser of the game being the one who’s nut breaks first).

In the first world war, conkers were used to produce acetone through fermentation for the war effort (the acetone could be used to help produce cordite, a smokeless propellant). Despite conkers containing starch, the conkers were quite poor sources and didn’t produce much acetone overall.

*

Conker day, a holiday I still think I’m the only true recogniser of, is a day dedicated to collecting as many conkers as possible. The day moves depending on availability of conkers which is highly dependant on the arrival of Autumn and the general temperature of the region. For example, last year Conker Day was on the 24^th of September, but this year I’ve decided it falls on the 2^nd of October.

So yesterday, I set out into the parks near to me and began filling my pockets with as many conkers as I could find. It’s a delightful activity involving really taking in the changing of seasons and watching the leaves fall from the trees around you. I must advertise a degree of caution though, the chestnut trees do not know you are standing beneath them and will continue to drop their nuts. The spiked nuts are heavy and sharp and if you are standing beneath one it will hurt quite a bit. Any kind of hat or hood should protect you but in general try not to spend too much time stood directly under the trees!

As I walked through the woods, pausing now and then to gather more nuts. I was reminded of a favourite song of mine, ‘Into the Unknown’ by ‘The Blasting Company’. The song was created for the animated show ‘Over the Garden Wall’, which is a heavily autumnal show itself, but the lyrics really inspire that feeling of autumn for me:

How the gentle wind

Beckons through the leaves

As Autumn colours fall.

Dancing in a swirl

Of golden memories

The loveliest lies of all.

After around an hour of wandering the forest, I decided I had collected enough and headed home. By my count I managed around thirty conkers this year which I will be keeping safe in a jar, doubling them as a nice autumn decoration.

Have you collected any conkers this year? Let me know how many you’ve managed to find below I’m fascinated to know if I’ve convinced anyone else to join in the festivities.