Why are there more conkers around this year compared to last year?

the weather was kinder when the flowers were open. more insects got to pollinate them. hence more conkers.

I don't know where you live, doesn't say in yoiur profile, but in London, we've had trouble with Horse chestnut leaf blotch, amongst other ills, so we had hardly any conkers last year compared to previous years ,when there were hundreds. This year, though, the leaf blotch didn't hit till later in the year, so we've had a lot more conkers, though still nowhere near as many as 2 or 3 years ago.

Where do you live Tohaha
This was in the UK newspapers recently -m Experts say the relatively sunny June and September has boosted numbers of spiders. Horse chestnut trees, in contrast, are having miserable time and are producing tiny yields of conkers.
The poor crop is being blamed on the horse chestnut leaf miner moth which attacks trees and turns their leaves brown and shrivelled over the summer.
Conkers by the outside doors and in the house are suppose to stop spiders coming indoors.

SBG has got it right on the money... better weather!

We have two large horse chestnut in our garden, both with preservation orders on them, leaves all turned brown this summer and on every other one in neighbouring gardens, put it down to really hot weather we had earlier in year, only recently heard of leaf miner moth, not as many conkers here either, although grey squirrel seems to be finding lots to bury, everywhere I dig I find conkers,lol.

I allways look Surrey

The better weather has produced more acorns as well this year.

Given that horse chestnuts and acorns are 'top fruit' this isn't really a surprise as this has been an extremely good year for top fruit... think of all those apples and pears we are harvesting

Certainly good year for apples been peeling cooking and freezing them all week from our bramley apple tree on allotment, even got blisters on my fingers to prove it,lol, 25 bags so far, be eating apple pies, crumbles etc all winter.

We went out to collect sweet chestnuts last Tuesday, but although there were many on the ground,none of them had developed.I live in N.Wales and I wonder if it is the same in other parts of the UK.