Woodland Burials, Memorial Trees and Eco Urns

Eco memorials cover every nature-led way to remember someone, from a woodland burial or natural burial ground to planting a memorial tree or choosing a biodegradable urn. Many families now look for a green burial or eco funeral instead of a traditional cemetery, because the land is managed for wildlife rather than filled with headstones, and it becomes richer over time rather than simply being maintained.

Most natural burial grounds accept ashes as well as full burials, so they work just as well for families who have already chosen cremation. Graves are marked simply, often with a tree, a wooden marker or a small plaque, and many sites record the exact spot by GPS or what3words so it can always be found again.

Below you’ll find UK natural burial grounds, woodland burial sites, memorial tree schemes, biodegradable urns and other nature-led tributes.

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Primrose Wood Natural Burial Ground

Price Range: £500 to £1,000

Ashes interment is confirmed, they take natural burials and interment of ashes. Developing broadleaved woodland near Lavenham, run by a family who have farmed there over 200 years, trading as GF Hawkins since 1954. There’s a Tudor Barn on site for the ceremony and the gathering afterwards. Open to all faiths or none, with single and double plots available to Read more…

Boduan Sanctuary Wood (The Eternal Forest)

Price Range: £250 to £500

Boduan Sanctuary Wood is mixed woodland on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, with indigenous trees, ferns, wildflowers and shrubs. Full burial is available, and there are separate areas for ashes to be buried or scattered. Pet burials are also offered. Two things set it apart. Coffins are carried on hand-drawn wooden carts rather than by vehicle, which families often find Read more…

The Vale of Belvoir Natural Burial Ground

The Vale of Belvoir Natural Burial Ground sits in a wildflower meadow at Bottesford with 360 degree views across the vale. Both meadow burial plots and ashes interment are available, at £1,400 and £500 respectively, with memorial plaques as an option. Published pricing, which is rare. It is run by James, Clair, George and Emily, a family team who look Read more…

Hill Holt Wood, Norton Big Wood

Price Range: £100 to £250

Hill Holt Wood is an award-winning woodland social enterprise with charitable status near Norton Disney in Lincolnshire, running education, forestry and health programmes alongside the burial ground. Choosing them puts money into all of that rather than into a private operator. Burials take place at Norton Big Wood, in ancient woodland. The burial area itself is a small clearing surrounded Read more…

Brightwater Green Burial Meadow

Price Range: £250 to £500

Brightwater is a wildflower meadow and woodland beside a spring-fed stream near Owmby, about ten miles north of Lincoln. It has been running since 2009. It is family run by Brightwater Landscapes, the same family who have farmed this land for over 130 years, which is worth knowing when you are choosing somewhere permanent. Both full burial and ashes interment Read more…

Gunton Woodland Burial Park

Gunton Woodland Burial Park was the first environmentally friendly woodland burial park in the Waveney and Great Yarmouth area. It is run as a non-profit charity rather than a business. Once the start-up loans are repaid, surplus funds go to local causes, so the money families spend stays in the area rather than going to shareholders. That is rare in Read more…

Thoulstone Park Natural Burial Meadow

Thoulstone Park is a burial meadow on a 150 acre estate at Chapmanslade in Wiltshire, and the sheep are still grazing it. That is the point. Rather than taking land out of use, the burials happen within a working pastoral landscape, so the meadow stays a meadow and the farm stays a farm. Graves are left unmarked to keep it Read more…

Arnos Vale Natural Burial Woodland

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Arnos Vale is five acres of woodland that began life as a Victorian orchard, now grown into habitat for birds, wildflowers and native trees. It is the only dedicated natural burial woodland in Bristol. Both full natural burial and ashes interment are available, and ashes can go into a biodegradable urn or straight into the earth. Graves are single depth Read more…

Chesham Bois Woodland Burial Ground

Chesham Bois Woodland Burial Ground sits on a hillside in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in naturally growing woodland of ash, hazel, beech and hornbeam. Both woodland burial and ashes interment are available. There is a chapel on site open to all faiths and denominations, which is unusual for a natural burial ground and useful for families who Read more…

Forget Me Not Fields Natural Burial Ground

Forget Me Not Fields Natural Burial Ground is twenty one acres of wildflower meadow at Church Farm on the Wirral, looking out across the Dee Estuary towards North Wales. They take ashes interment, ashes scattering and full burial, so all three options are available in one place, which is unusual and useful. It is run by the Ledsham family, who Read more…

Dalton Woodland Burial Ground

Dalton Woodland Burial Ground sits in mature mixed woodland on the Dalton Hall Estate near Burton-in-Kendal, with views out across Morecambe Bay and into the Lake District. It is mature woodland rather than a newly planted field, so it already looks and feels like a wood rather than something that will become one in thirty years. Burials use biodegradable coffins Read more…

The Meadow Cemetery

The Meadow Cemetery opened in 2010 at Little Owston in north Doncaster, next to Lady Wood, and is made up of wildflower meadow and native woodland. Both full burial and ashes interment are available, with biodegradable coffins required. It is independently run rather than owned by a funeral group, and is a member of the Association of Natural Burial Grounds, Read more…

Southfield Lane Burial Ground

Southfield Lane is a natural burial ground at Rufforth just outside York, run by Rufforth with Knapton Parish Council. Both full burial and ashes interment are available. The ground is managed on ecologically sound lines and kept deliberately informal, so it reads as a quiet piece of countryside rather than a cemetery. Being parish council run, it is likely to Read more…

Brocklands Woodland Burial

Brocklands is a family owned burial ground across seventy acres of woodland and farmland on the Cappleside Estate near Settle, in the Yorkshire Dales. Both full burial and interment of cremation ashes are available, with biodegradable coffins and ashes caskets required. Native trees and wildflowers are left to self-seed across the grounds rather than being planted in rows. There is Read more…

Wild Meadow Eco Cemetery

Wild Meadow sits beside Kinghorn Loch in Fife and is the only community-owned natural burial ground in the county. It takes both full burial in a biodegradable coffin or shroud and interment of ashes in a biodegradable container, so it works for families who have already had a cremation. It is run by the Kinghorn Community Land Association, a Scottish Read more…

Clovery Woods of Rest

Clovery Woods of Rest was the first privately owned green burial ground in Scotland, in mixed woodland near Fyvie in Aberdeenshire. The trees went in back in 2002 and the wood keeps growing, because a tree is planted with each burial. Coffins must be environmentally friendly and there are no headstones anywhere on the site. The whole thing is designed Read more…

CairnBrae Natural Burial Ground

CairnBrae is a natural burial ground in the Angus countryside outside Dundee, set up as a place for families to hold an unhurried, reflective goodbye rather than a slot in a schedule. There is no fixed format. Every burial is arranged around what the family wants, and all faiths and beliefs are welcome, as is none. They have won the Read more…

Beer Cross Woodland Burials

Price Range: £500 to £1,000

Beer Cross is six acres of former pasture on the very edge of Dartmoor, planted out eleven years ago with around 3,500 native broadleaf trees. Cherry, field maple, spindle, ash, oak, walnut and hazel. Plots sit within a one acre section of the field, with wide views towards Cosdon Hill, Beacon and Belstone Tor. They take both full burial and Read more…

Atlantic Rest Natural Burial

Atlantic Rest Natural Burial is at Penlow Field in Woolley, near Morwenstow on the north Cornwall coast, with views across North Cornwall, into North Devon and out over the Atlantic. The sea view is the point here. For anyone with a connection to this coast it is hard to beat, and it is a genuine alternative to scattering at sea Read more…

Orchard Meadows Natural Burials

Orchard Meadows sits at Elley Cross on the border of Yeoford and Colebrooke, with long views over unspoilt Devon countryside. It is a crab apple orchard and meadow rather than woodland, planted with Malus Gorgeous trees that support wildlife and pollinators. That makes it visually quite different to most natural burial grounds, particularly in blossom. All faiths and beliefs are Read more…

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Natural burial, woodland burial or green burial?

These terms mean almost the same thing. A natural or green burial uses biodegradable coffins, shrouds or urns, no embalming and no traditional headstone, with the land managed as habitat. “Woodland burial” usually means the site is wooded, or that a tree is planted for each burial, while other sites are open wildflower meadow. Some are run by families or farms, some by charities or parish councils, and some by larger companies.

Burying or scattering ashes at a natural burial ground

Ashes interment is usually the most affordable option at a natural burial ground, and many sites have dedicated areas for it. Ashes are placed in a biodegradable urn or straight into the earth, often with a tree or small marker. Some sites also allow scattering, which not all burial grounds offer. If you’re weighing up the options, our guide to cremation vs burial in the UK explains how they compare.

Memorial trees and biodegradable urns

If you’d rather plant a tree at home or in a memorial woodland, it’s worth knowing that ashes on their own aren’t good for plants. They’re very alkaline and salty, so tree urns and memorial kits use only a small amount, mixed with a soil blend that balances it out. For more living memorial ideas, see our memorial ideas for ashes.

What to ask before choosing a site

It’s worth asking whether the grave is permanent or leased, what markers are allowed, whether you can visit at any time, whether they host services on site, and what’s included in the price. Visiting in person is the best way to know whether a site feels right.

Where to find providers

The areas with the most choice at the moment are Devon, Scotland, Hampshire, Wales and Buckinghamshire. Choose a county from the list above to see providers near you.

Is a natural burial ground different from a cemetery?

Yes. Natural burial grounds are managed to support wildlife and habitat, rather than laid out with rows of headstones. Burials use only biodegradable coffins or shrouds, and the site is left to grow naturally rather than being formally landscaped.

Can ashes be interred rather than scattered?

Yes. Most natural burial grounds offer ashes interment, where ashes are buried within the site in a biodegradable urn or straight into the earth, and marked in the same way as a full burial.

How much does a natural burial cost?

It varies a lot by site and region. Ashes interment is usually much cheaper than a full burial plot, and a few burial grounds publish their prices online, which makes comparing easier. Contact sites directly for current prices.

Can you mark a natural burial?

Most sites don’t allow traditional headstones, but many permit a small wooden or natural stone marker, a plaque or a memorial tree. Some leave graves unmarked and record the location by GPS instead.

Can ashes really be used to grow a tree?

Yes, but only in small, measured amounts alongside a soil treatment. Most memorial tree kits are designed to balance this out safely.

Do you need permission to plant a memorial tree?

On your own land, no. In a public space or on someone else’s land, you’ll need permission from the landowner or local council.

What are biodegradable urns made from?

Common materials include sand, salt, bamboo, felted wool, recycled paper, mushroom mycelium and other plant fibres. Water urns can dissolve within minutes to hours, while buried urns take months to a few years.