Bench or Headstone

I looked into getting a memorial bench for my parents in Worthing,however, it was so expensive and I am living in Scotland and will probably never even sit on it. I decided to get a memorial bench of my own in my garden. I hope to get the first names carved into it of all my close deceased relatives.
Hopefully my children will put my name on it when I die and put it in one of their Gardens.

That's lovely, bikergran!

I printed a Sunflower and placed the quote on top...

a quote on a bench in Morecambe Nr Lancaster has the names and underneath reads...

" Its not to the road we travel in life"

" It's who walks beside us, that makes the difference"

I have borrowed this quote...

Cookie. I shall look for your bench. small world..

Thankyou Teetime for starting this and to everybody who has contributed positively. It’s been lovely to hear everybody’s ideas.

Bench and ashes on top of Ashdown Forest overlooking family home at the bottom of the valley. Where I walked with DCs and now withDGCs on so many days, and where I wasa Ranger for a few years.

My Partner and I have already sorted this out.
We both fell in love with Canvey Island in Essex a couple of years ago when we first visited. We noticed that there were lots of benches along the seafront with memorials on them.
To cut a long story short, we both decided why wait?
Last Xmas, as a joint present to each other, we bought a bench on Canvey Island seafront. It has a brass plaque that says " Sit awhile and enjoy the view".
We love visiting our bench, and wondering how many people have read the plaque, sat down to rest their legs and enjoyed watching the world go by.

Garnet - what a lovely tribute to your son. And what a pity that some university official can't appreciate the difference between a bench and a paving stone. A thoughtless 'improvement' to the university grounds with no regard for the reason for the bench being put there.
I have a tear in my eye when I pass by where a teenager died as she enjoyed summer sunshine in a city square. There was already an Eternal Flame nearby. The city council saw fit to remove the flame but I'm sure many will remember the young woman and regret that the the flame was far from eternal.

Direne, my cousin's wicker coffin looked beautiful with bright flowers tucked in. I noticed no creaking but had there been any sound it wouldn't have detracted from a simple ceremony to say goodbye to a beloved lady from her family and friends.
There's a small public garden in London with several much used wooden seats remembering local people who 'loved this place'. What a strange view of the world to find them 'mawkish'. They're put there so that others might also enjoy the flowers and watch the children play!
Grummpa - I shall look out for that one when I'm next at Kew, it has already made me smile.

Lovely Coast, I think I would do the same

We have a bench for our DS who died suddenly of a heart attack at the University where he had studied and also worked. For the past 10 years we have visited at least twice a year , taken flowers and sat on his Bench with our memories. On the Bench which the University put in place was as well as his name and dates the quiote from Ghandi "Learn as if your were going to live forever, Live as if you were going to die tomorrow" which summed up DS perfectly.

A few weeks ago friend of DS was at theUniversity and saw that all the memorial benches had gone. Bless her she went to the Estate office to find out what had happened, as she didn't want us to visit in December and find the bench gone, she knew we would be devastated. Apparently, they are re-landscaping the area and all the benches are in storage. She also found out that it was unlikely that the benches would go back to their original positions.

DH rang the office, they were very helpful but said that the benches would not be going to the same places and may even not go back at all but the same may be carved onto paving stones they did say that our views would be taken into account and that we are the only relatives to be in touch so far.

I was so upset that I wrote a letter toThe Estate office. One of my reasons for writing is that I feel it is a great shame that they did not even attempt to contact relatives I know that some of the benches commemorate people who have died in the the past 10 years and they may also have relatives who find comfort in visiting.

We do now have a meeting planned at the university and hope that a compromise will be found, otherwise I will have the bench bought home and place it locally

I do think a bench makes a lovely memorial but one needs to be vigilant about its placement.

Katelios, Kefelonia Greek Islands where our bench and ashes will go of both my hub and I

TellNo1Ok 'Then again i fancy a woodland burial with a wicker coffin'.
Went off that idea when someone pointed out that wicker creaks when it is being carried.

Diddy1
Chance would be a fine thing concerning your request. The gulls of St Ives would have something else in mind for your bench.

I would choose a bench overlooking St Ives harbour in Cornwall, people would enjoy the view.
Having said that when my parents died I dedicated a seat in the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, a lasting memory.

A bench is my preference though its not in my Will. Overlooking Fowey, or Stratford upon Avon theatre, Crow Park in Keswick. Somwhere where a person needs to sit and contemplate the view.

We are all different and whatever you decide to leave' in memory of' is an individual choice. How ever my instructions are for the cash to charities of my choice that will save or make the lives of others bearable.

That’s a lovely idea Coast and olive trees live a very long time.Perhaps in your final house, you could plant it in the garden.

We bought an olive tree in memory of my son who died very suddenly on 13th November 2016. We had a beautiful plaque made for it and keep it in our garden. It’s in the greenhouse just now to protect it from frost. We just felt we would like a very private memorial that we could see every day. Also will never be vandalised because it is in our garden. It is in a tub so that we can take it with us if we should ever decide to move. Nothing will bring him back but it is a small comfort.

A place called 'Falls of Bruar' in Scotland would do for me. This is a most beautiful series of cascading waterfalls and I do believe it's mysticism caught me unawares in the romantic arena. 30 good years resulted. Oh yessssss!

My favourite inscription is on a bench in Kew Gardens, which is dedicated (I quote from memory) "to X, who loved this place, and to her husband Y, who didn't."

I sat on a bench at Robin Hoods Bay & was very grateful for it! It read:
HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO LIVE BY THE SEA
TO BE HAPPY CONTENTED & FREE.
TO THE CHRONOLOGICALLY GIFTED
LOVE MARK & LUCY

Took a pic I was so taken by it.

Nasty radicalnan and just unnecessary attention seeking on your part!

The 'attention seeking' is by relatives who think the loss of their dad/ mum/ aunty/ friend is so important that they can inflcit it on the rest of us........it is life.