Finding the perfect place to bury your loved ones can be a problem. Emma Ashley discovers a beautiful, natural solution right in Surrey's woodland heart
Space is an ever-increasing issue in this country. It's hard enough to find the right place to stay when you're alive, never mind when you've passed on. For many, natural burial has become the obvious (and most ecologically sound) option, allowing their bodies to return to the natural environment they so loved.
Clandon Wood Natural Burial Site is one of the areas catering to this choice. Looking out from its glass-walled pavilion over more than 30 acres of land, you can see the flower-filled fields, thriving woodland and sparkling lake. It's as much a place to enjoy remembering loved ones as it is a place to let them rest, with facilities that cater to secular and spiritual funerals, as well as memorial services.
Fran Hall, Operations Manager at Clandon Wood, says it's the simple beauty of the idea - and of the site - that makes it so appealing.
"Natural burial is nothing new, it's something our ancestors have done for thousands of years," she explains. "The body returns to the elements from whence we all came, in a lovely landscape so those left behind have somewhere to come and remember them."
In partnership with the RSPB and Surrey Wildlife Trust, the site, once fallow farmland, has been designed to be a self-sustaining balanced ecosystem. It was awarded Green Flag Status in 2014, and Fran tells me it's gradually changing into a nature reserve, "a beautiful legacy and a lasting memorial to all those resting here".
"Among the species already here, we have endangered species like skylarks, the Little Blue and Brown Hairstreak butterflies, and we've just introduced eight rescued hedgehogs in male and female pairs - so we hope there will be a community of little hoglets settled among our hedgerows as the years go by. We're doing our best to ensure that rare creatures have the habitat they need to thrive."
Between the bigger beasties and their award-winning work with pollinators (like the humble bumblebee) and wildflowers (also a rare sight in England), Clandon Wood is a monument to life from loss.
"Burials don't have to be dismal experiences in municipal cemeteries," Fran relates. Over and over we hear people attending funerals say 'this is exactly what I want for my funeral - I just didn't know such places existed'. They realise you don't need to have a Victorian-style funeral - you just need somewhere to honour the life of a loved one."
Natural burial avoids the space shortage that's becoming such a problem in town cemeteries, as well as the environmental damage caused by cremation - and the costs can be lower, Fran explains, while providing a beautiful nature reserve as a space to grieve and heal.
"We see it every day on the faces of those who arrive, heavy with grief, and leave here lighter, smiling."
Among its other accolades, Clandon Wood won last year's the Cemetery of the Year award - surely Fran must be proud of the achievement?
"The staff here are amazing, and the site is beautiful. We give people time, choices and support. We've had over 220 burials here since our first back in 2012, and every single family has had the best experience they could possibly have at a time of such sadness. That's what makes me proud."
You can find out more on the Clandon Wood website
Alternatively, contact them directly through 01483 479614 or simon@clandonwood.com
Clandon Wood Surrey Hills Natural Burial Reserve
Epsom Road, West Clandon, GU4 7FN
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