After a cremation, the ashes will be returned to you within a week of the funeral in a container of your choice. A decision then needs to be made what to do with them. Families often feel they ought to know what to do straight away. You do not. There is no deadline on this and keeping them on a shelf for a year while you think is entirely normal.
Scattering
The most common choice, and often the most meaningful when the place matters — a favourite walk on Ilkley Moor, a spot along the Worth Valley, a garden, a football ground.
A few practical points. On private land you need the landowner’s permission, which includes moorland that may look open but is owned. Some organisations have their own rules. Check the wind direction before you start, and consider taking someone with you rather than doing it alone.
Burying the ashes
Ashes can be interred in a cemetery plot or a crematorium’s garden of remembrance, often with a small plaque or memorial stone. This gives family a fixed place to visit, which some people need in a way that scattering does not provide.
They can also be buried in an existing family grave, which lets someone join a partner or parent.
Keeping them
There is nothing wrong with keeping ashes at home, and plenty of families do. Decorative urns come in every style imaginable, from plain wood to hand-painted ceramics. Some families divide the ashes between several relatives so everyone has something.
Keepsakes and memorials
- Ashes into glass. A small amount of ash is worked into glass jewellery — pendants, rings, or paperweights. We partner with a specialist provider for this.
- Memorial fireworks. Ashes are placed into fireworks for a final send-off. It sounds unusual until you meet the families who choose it, at which point it makes complete sense.
- Trees and plants. Biodegradable urns designed to be planted with a sapling.
- Multi-award-winning aerial ashes scattering ceremonies by drone.
When the family wants different things
This is common, and it does not have to be a conflict. Ashes can be divided. One relative scatters theirs at a meaningful spot, another keeps a portion at home, a third has a piece of jewellery made. Everyone gets what they need.
If you would like to talk it through, call Robert on 07599 46 26 49.