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Save £100 when you purchase two funeral plans together. Call us for more details.
When it comes time to scatter the ashes of a loved one — or when we begin to ponder our own future cremation funeral — we might ask ourselves where we would like to scatter them. Can you scatter ashes anywhere? What are the rules? Do I need permission? We tend to ask ourselves these questions and more when considering this topic. In this article, we will attempt to answer them for you, and tell you what you need to know.
We’d also just like to recognise at the outset that, if you’ve found us at this article, you might be facing a difficult time. Aura is there to help; we are the top-rated ‘Cremation Services’ provider on Trustpilot, with a rating of 4.9/5 stars, and the combination of compassion and knowledge required to meet your funeral needs.
Key Takeaways
Whether or not you need permission to scatter ashes will depend largely on where you want to scatter them.
The key to answering this question is to remember that, whilst there’s no law specifically banning the scattering of ashes in the UK, you will need to secure the permission of the landowner. The owner of any given piece of land could be a public or private body, or a private individual. If you have a certain site in mind, find out who the owner is, and contact them to request permission to scatter ashes.
You won’t need permission from anyone to scatter ashes on your own property, or over a body of water.
In order to scatter ashes on the land of a public body, such as a local council, you will need to secure their permission first. In most cases, this won’t be a problem (for instance, if you want to scatter them in the local park, or some other civic beauty spot). But each location will have its own likelihood of being approved for such requests. Edinburgh castle, for instance, whilst being a publicly owned historical landmark in the centre of Edinburgh, is generally considered to be off-limits for such requests, due to the fact that it is an enormous tourist attraction. However, it may be possible if the person who has died had a military connection to the castle.
Regarding private land, there isn’t much difference to the procedure — you will still need to seek permission before scattering — but it might be that your request is less likely to be granted. You might think that this would only relate to scattering ashes within the grounds of buildings, like churches or universities, and historical sites. But, considering the fact that vast tracts of the UK’s rural landscapes are privately owned (for example, according to the Scotsman, over 50% of Scotland’s rural land is made up of estates belonging to just 433 individuals) you may need to seek permission to scatter ashes even in remote, rural locations.
Whilst you can’t necessarily scatter ashes anywhere in the UK, there are a whole host of places where it can be done (assuming you have permission where relevant). From religious buildings and cemeteries; to national parks and countryside; rivers, lakes, and seas; to the coast and beaches; as well as gardens and private property, there’s an option out there for everyone.
There are many beliefs on death and funerals in religion which might mean, for us, scattering ashes in a church yard or cemetery is the right choice. Remember, not all churches allow this practice, with some larger, more widely visited churches less amenable to the idea. Make sure to secure the permission of the hierarchy of the local church before proceeding.
This goes even if you have a family grave in the church yard. Make sure that you still have the rights to the plot in question, and renew them if necessary.
Rural areas, as noted, can be tricky, given that they are not necessarily publicly owned. When you want to scatter ashes in a national park, find out who the owner is, and request their permission beforehand. In the UK, national parks and stretches of countryside could be owned by private individuals, local councils, charities, heritage associations, the National Trust, and even the Ministry of Defence.
Most public bodies, depending on the site in question, will grant permission as long as environmental guidelines are respected. Whilst it’s a popular cremation myth to say that human ashes are harmful per se, this is not the case. However, in large enough quantities, it can (through higher phosphate levels derived from our bones) upset the local ecological balance, changing the types of flora and fauna which thrive in a given location. Private landowners may grant your request at their discretion.
The key thing with bodies of freshwater (lakes and lochs), or running freshwater (streams and rivers) is to make sure that your intended scattering point is not near an extraction point, i.e., for drinking water. Be courteous too towards people who are fishing, by avoiding the scattering of ashes in fishing spots. Whilst you don’t need permission to scatter ashes over bodies of water in general, they are sometimes only accessible over private land, and, in some cases, stretches of water may be privately owned in certain parts. As always, check to make sure that you don’t need permission first before pressing ahead.
Regarding the sea, the only real guidelines you need to follow are environmental. You will want to choose a calm day and hold the urn near to the surface of the water as you scatter, to minimise the risk of the ashes blowing back into your own face. Other than that, make sure you are not near a marina, fishing point, and that you are more than a kilometer upstream from any reservoirs or water-collection points.
Being buried at sea is becoming one of the most popular alternative funeral ideas, but many people find the logistics of it (and the potential costs) quite prohibitive. As an alternative to that, having our ashes scattered on the coast or on the beach can be effective.
The guidance with this idea is much the same as scattering over the sea itself. Choose a calm day, and make sure you’re not near any people, or marine-life reserves before proceeding. Use common sense: don’t scatter the ashes on footpaths, near the entry and exit ways of the beach, or near buildings.
As always, there’s no harm in asking if you’d like to scatter ashes within the grounds or gardens of a stately home, for instance. Whether the request is granted will be at the discretion of the owners of the property, and will likely depend on your observance of environmental guidelines.
As a fall back, it is normally possible to have ashes scattered in the Garden of Remembrance of a crematorium shortly after cremation.
Many people want to choose a place for scattering their own ashes which is highly special and relevant to them and their interests. For instance, sports grounds, or favourite historical attractions.
Sporting arenas, such as football stadiums, are often a dream choice for people when thinking about scattering their ashes, especially if they have been big fans of their team throughout their lifetime. However, these days, it is rather rare that a club would allow the scattering of ashes to occur onto the grass of its playing surface. That’s because ash can damage grass — especially the highly manicured and treated grass surfaces of a football or other sports pitch. For some clubs (although not all) the sheer number of people wanting to do this would make it prohibitive, too, given that many English Premier League teams have fans from all over the world.
With that being said, some clubs can organise, in conjunction with their own club chaplain, the scattering of ashes within the grounds of the stadium, away from the pitch. Liverpool, for instance, don’t permit the scattering of ashes on the pitch, but they do have a specially designed Garden of Remembrance on the concourse outside of the main stand (97 Avenue, where there is a memorial to the 97 people who died in the Hillsborough Disaster). Many clubs do something similar in this regard, giving supporters the chance to scatter their ashes close to their clubs.
Once again, permission has to be secured from the ultimate owner of the land, and environmental guidelines will need to be respected. Natural burials are becoming more and more popular, and it is even possible to inter ashes at woodland or natural burial grounds, if preferred. The growing practice of planting trees along with the buried or scattered ashes of someone who has died even has the potential to positively impact the environment.
It’s not unheard of for requests to have ashes scattered at famous historical sites around the UK, however, it has to be said that it is unlikely. The more famous and frequently visited a site is, the less likely the request is to be granted. Try to find alternatives, if you can, that allow you to get close. For instance, you might want to scatter your ashes at the Tower of London, which in likelihood won’t be possible, but you can scatter your ashes in the River Thames that runs right in front of it without any permission. As ever, if you want to scatter your ashes on land anywhere that you don’t own yourself, secure the permission of the landowner.
In wondering where we can scatter ashes, we may also have cultural and religious considerations to make beforehand.
Whilst there has been a decline of religion in the UK in general, religious practices relating to cremation ashes are still highly relevant to our society. For muslims, cremation is forbidden, so it isn’t something that relates to their faith, but for most sects of Christianity, some elements of Judaism, as well as Hinduism and Buddhism, cremation is perfectly acceptable and increasingly normal.
For scattering ashes in a churchyard, as ever, secure the permission of the church first. It’s unlikely to be an issue, but in some churches it isn’t permitted.
Ash scattering, traditionally, has been a solemn affair, perhaps carried out alone, or in a quiet setting. In certain religions, like Hinduism, it’s a sacred moment (where ashes are submerged in a body of water) as it symbolises the release of the soul from the cycle of reincarnation.
But, in line with the growing popularity of direct cremation in the UK, which reflects a growing shift away from the formality of tradition, people are seeing the creative potential of ash scattering. We may now look to organise an ash scattering ceremony themed around the interests of the person who has died, or around their personality. It could form part of a wider end-of-life celebration organised in their honour.
It may be that you don’t want to have your ashes scattered at all. You may, as an alternative, prefer the interment of ashes, or a whole host of alternative cremation ashes ideas.
If you want to bury ashes, for instance in an urn, within a cemetery or memorial garden, then you will need to have the rights to a plot of land or an area of the space. This, naturally, can add cost to proceedings, as these plots will need to be rented or purchased, with costs ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. This is often one of the most expensive elements of a burial funeral, especially if it involves commissioning a headstone, and is often a deciding factor for people weighing up cremation vs burial.
If burying ashes on your own land, and digging the cremation grave yourself, remember to make sure that it is deep enough to go undisturbed by animals that may want to dig. For that reason, it can be a good idea (and this is something that many prefer to do anyway) to plant a tree or some other fauna on top to cover the spot.
From having our ashes disbursed across the Earth’s atmosphere via a plane that reaches its edge (so-called ‘Space Burials’), to cremation ink tattoos, there are a whole host of alternative ways in which we can personalise our treatment of ashes, whatever we have decided to do with them. There are even those who want to have their ashes fused with a concrete structure to be placed on the bottom of the sea, so that it can form part of a reef, helping sealife to flourish.
In burying them, we can use biodegradable urns which are kinder to the environment. Or we can keep a customised, designed urn on display at home, as a constant reminder of the love we have for those whom we’ve lost.
We hope, among other things, this article has helped you to answer the question “can you scatter ashes anywhere?”. It’s an interesting question which many people have strong, well developed views on, and it’s an important practice that allows us to express ourselves one last time.
We can’t have cremation ashes without a cremation, and Aura is the top-rated national ‘Cremation Services’ provider on Trustpilot, with 4.9/5 stars. If you’re starting to think about how you’d like your ashes to be scattered, you may also be considering whether or not to opt for a prepaid funeral plan. With Aura, you’re getting a low-cost, flexible, and compassionate service. Why not download our funeral plan brochure today for free, to see whether we can help you to start your end-of-life planning journey?
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