Guides funerals

How burial and cremations work

How to scatter ashes

You can scatter ashes by casting them into the wind from a scattering tube. Other options include creating a colourful garden feature or scattering the ashes at the beach and letting the tide wash them away.

What happens to funeral flowers after a cremation

After the service, close friends or family will usually take any flowers home straight away or collect them a day or two later. The average flower arrangement will last up to two weeks before being thrown away or composted by the person who took it home.

Can you be cremated with a pacemaker?

It’s not safe for pacemakers to go into cremation chambers. The extreme heat can cause them to explode, posing a serious risk to the crematorium workers, and the remains of the person who’s died.

What happens at a cremation?

Cremation has been a funeral option in the UK for over 150 years, but it still remains a mystery to many people. Here, we look at exactly what happens at a cremation so you and your family know what to expect.

What can you do with the ashes after a cremation?

After receiving the ashes from a cremation, many families arrange their own personal memorial service. You’re then free to display or scatter the ashes anywhere you wish – or you could even create a series of mementos for your family.

Where can you scatter ashes in the UK?

Ashes can be scattered almost anywhere in the UK, as long as you have permission from the landowner first. If you’re thinking about scattering ashes at sea or on a river, you don’t need a permit, but you should follow the Environment Agency’s guidance.

Being remembered your way - how to choose an urn that reflects who you are

Life is full of colour and vibrancy. But we rarely talk about how that vibrancy of our lives can be reflected in our final resting place.

What can you put in a coffin for cremation?

A lot of people choose to put something special in their loved one’s coffin, but not everything’s allowed. So what can you include and what should you leave out?

Everything you need to know about sea burials

We’ll cover what a sea burial is, how you can organise one, where you can have one and why you might want one. As well as the risks and advantages of the process so you can decide what’s right for you.

Everything you need to know about woodland burials

A woodland burial is the choice to bury someone at a site of natural beauty, such as a woodland, meadow or orchard, instead of a traditional cemetery plot.

What is embalming?

Embalming has become an increasingly common part of funeral plans over the years. But what exactly is it? And should you choose it for your loved one?

How to be a pallbearer

A pallbearer is someone who escorts the coffin at a funeral and (if there is one) at a burial, too. They’ll either carry the coffin, move it along on a wheeled trolley called a bier, or walk with it as other people move it.

A guide to the interment of ashes

Interment is the process of putting cremation ashes in a permanent resting place that you can visit. Interring ashes can meaning burying them or putting them in a Columbarium — a building, room, or freestanding wall designed to hold urns.

How to buy a burial plot

If you’re thinking about buying a burial plot – we’ll go through all the details from what a burial plot is, to how much it costs, so you feel prepared.

A guide to water cremation

It’s an alternative to burial and cremation that people are slowly adopting around the world. Its biggest benefit is that it’s very environmentally friendly. It requires no land space, and creates very few carbon emissions.

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