14 Unusual Ways to Scatter Ashes
If you’re struggling to decide on the perfect location for your loved one’s final resting place, read our article that we have created to give you inspiration for some wonderfully unique ideas.
A Sports Ground or Memorial Garden
For many people, sports are a massive part of their lives. Sports grounds offer a place for emotional expression, sometimes offering a connection to someone’s home routes, creating a sense of belonging.
A lot of stadiums don’t offer the option for ashes to be scattered on the playing grounds as ashes can damage the grass, especially due to the large number of requests and the high demand for people to be spread at the home of their favourite sports team. Queen’s Park Rangers Loftus Road are one of the few remaining clubs that allow the scattering of ashes by the side of the pitch.
However, many stadiums do have a memorial space, such as a Garden of Remembrance, where fan’s ashes can be scattered. For example, Leicester City King Power Stadium and Manchester City Etihad Stadium have memorial gardens.
In all cases though, make sure you contact the stadium directly to ask for permission and arrange an appropriate time to scatter the ashes of a loved one.
If a stadium has no memorial space for ashes to be scattered, they may have some alternative options available. For example, at Celtic Park, personalised bricks can be purchased in honour of fans to remember them by. Similarly, Chelsea Stamford Bridge has a dedicated memorial wall where plaques can be placed.
Fireworks
It is becoming increasingly more popular to have a loved one go out with a bang and be scattered via ‘rockets’, i.e. fireworks, with many companies offering celebration of life firework displays.
Ashes can be sent to the company to be filled into the fireworks ahead of the display date. However, a lot of individuals wish to stay with the ashes up until the point of filling into the fireworks in order not to leave their loved ones alone.
The ashes must be filled into individual rockets in small amounts as the volume they can hold is very small and it would not be functional to use one big rocket, therefore it is entirely possible to only send some of the cremains up into the sky and hold onto some which can be scattered in different ways or perhaps held in a keepsake urn.
It is also possible to have self-fire fireworks to be created which come with a certificate of authenticity so you know that only your loved one’s ashes are inside the fireworks. Then you may take them to wherever you please to set off yourself. Be sure to ask for permission from the landowner if applicable.
Aeroplane
Otherwise known as an ‘aerial burial’, scattering ashes via an aeroplane has become a popular way to honour the life of a loved one. Most services normally include a certificate confirming the aerial burial and GPS coordinates of the location where the ashes were released. Alternatively, it is possible to accompany the pilot on the flight and have a special role in the ceremony, or travel in other aeroplanes which fly in formation with the one that is scattering the ashes.
However, some pilots have confirmed that cremains can sometimes get sucked back into the aeroplane due to low pressure air currents, so maybe do your research on the best pilots to go with!
Remote Controlled Aircraft
If having an aerial burial appeals to you but an aeroplane feels a little too impersonal, you could consider going remote controlled!
You could purchase a remote controlled helicopter to do it yourself or there is a drone company that provides the service for you. Your drone can even be accompanied along-side another drone to video the journey that your loved one is being scattered along.
Skydiving
This is a very niche idea as of yet, with not a lot of companies offering to scatter ashes on behalf of the general public. However, if you were to get in touch it might be possible that they've never heard it before!
But, if you're a trained skydiver yourself, this might be a great way to say goodbye to someone you've lost.
Biodegradable Balloons
Another unusual way of scattering ashes via the air is by using biodegradable balloons. By placing a small amount of ash in each balloon, they will rise to the sky and burst at a maximum of 5 miles high!
This is a lovely send off idea for a ceremony having each family member holding their own individual balloon to release for themselves. Be sure not to attach any string or other materials to the balloons as these may harm the environment.
Hot Air Balloon
A lot of towns in the South West of England, such as Devon and Cornwall, have hot air balloon companies which will take you for a ride in the sky and let you scatter the ashes of a loved one at dawn or dusk, with extraordinary panoramic views. Need we say more?
Outer Space
A celestial send off! Launch your loved one's ashes into space, releasing them on a breath-taking final voyage.
For those that are particularly nerdy about space, the ascent of the ashes and the release will be captured on video to create an everlasting memory. There is even an option to have a portion of ashes released into space and returned to fulfil an adventurer's everlasting dream to become an astronaut.
Your loved one will be carried around the world on stratospheric winds to eventually re-join Earth's atmosphere as raindrops.
The Moon
Depending on the weather, wherever you are in the world you will be able to see the moon. If you choose to send your loved one to the moon in a custom ash capsule, you can always look to the moon and know they’re up there.
The ash capsules are placed on a memorial spacecraft, integrated into the astrobotic lander, and carried to the moon where the lander is deployed, carrying your loved one to the moon. The phrase ‘I love you to the moon and back’ has never been more real.
Boat
Sea burials are as classic as it gets but still just as beautiful as more modern ways of scattering ashes. Ashes can be cast directly into the water from a boat or placed in a water-soluble scattering urn which will peacefully float away and disperse as the urn degrades. See our collection of water burial urns for more information.
Jet Ski
A company that directly offers this service doesn’t seem to yet exist, but one man did take to Twitter once to share his story of how he scattered his Grandma’s ashes whilst he was on a jet ski.
Beaches
It is normally allowed for ashes to be scattered along beaches, given they are out of sight of other people on the beach and do not interfere with water systems.
Instead of scattering, some might choose to dig a hole into the sand and bury the ashes in there. When the tide comes in, it will slowly take your loved one out to sea.
If you are looking for a more ceremonial send off, you could perhaps build a sandcastle to rest your loved one in for the tide to take away. Or, perhaps the family dog could dig the hole. This might be a special touch if it is a furry friend you have lost.
Coral Reefs
Have your loved one become an environmental living legacy which is expected to last for more than 500 years helping to secure a diverse ecosystem.
A solace stone or memorial reef is made from safe cast concrete which incorporates the cremains of an individual. It is then carried onto a boat and released into the sea to slowly fall to the sea bed and begin its journey of creating a new habitat and place of protection for sea life by acting as artificial coral reef formations.
Often, you can have a ceremony on the boat with a few family and friends to watch the release of the stone into the water.
Some companies supply a memorial plaque which will have the GPS location of your loved ones reef which you can keep in your home. It also allows you to go diving, if you wish to visit your loved ones final resting place and discover what kind of home they have created for life underwater.
Bullets
This one is definitely not for everyone, but ideal for someone who was very into their guns! From a single bullet to an all-day event for family and friends, you can have a small amount of the cremains of a loved one put into each bullet, with some companies even offering personalised bullet shells.
