Guidance for Visitors

The Rushcliffe Oaks office is open on weekdays, except bank holidays, from 9.00am – 5.00pm Monday to Thursday and from 9.00am – 4.30pm on Fridays.

Pedestrian access to the memorial grounds is available all year round, and the pedestrian gates for the site are always unlocked, giving 24hr access. Vehicle gates are open during office hours as above, and also from 9.00am – 5.00pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays.

Rushcliffe Oaks welcomes all visitors to the crematorium and memorial grounds. This is a beautiful communal space for quiet reflection and remembrance of loved ones and we ask that visitors respect the peace, dignity and reverence of these facilities, acting with consideration for other users of the site.

• Please do not drop litter anywhere on site.
• No smoking is permitted anywhere on site.
• No music audible to others is permitted to be played on site except as part of an authorised ceremony.
• All dogs brought to the site must be kept on a lead at all times. Please ensure that the dignity of memorialisations is respected.
• Children who are or appear to be under the age of 16 must be accompanied in the crematorium and memorial grounds by a responsible adult.
• Please drive vehicles carefully and at an appropriately slow speed, giving priority to funeral vehicles and parking in a way that does not restrict access to others. No unauthorised vehicle may be left overnight within the premises.
• Please do not take photographs, video or sound recordings within the crematorium without first getting approval from the Crematorium Manager.
• Please do not unreasonably interrupt the duties of staff or contractors within the grounds, nor extend to them any gratuity.

• We encourage mourners and Funeral Directors to take tributes away after a service. Remaining tributes will be moved at the end of the working day to be displayed within the memorial grounds, generally for a minimum of three working days. After this time they will be assessed for disposal, taking into account natural decay, effects of weather and the activity of wildlife. Where possible, natural materials will be removed for repurposing or composting and other materials for recycling.
• No artificial flowers of any kind (including wreaths) are permitted in the grounds. An exception is made solely for Remembrance Day.
• Cut flowers without wrappers or bindings may be left on site, but please do ensure no plastics, ribbons or wires are attached. Receptacles for flowers placed on or formed in the ground are not permitted.
• Only memorials purchased directly from and installed by Rushcliffe Oaks will be permitted. The placing of personalised memorabilia in the memorial grounds – including placed on or attached to any benches – is not allowed and any such items will be removed.
• No glass or plastic ornamentations are permitted within the memorial grounds. Such items will be considered a safety or environmental hazard and immediately removed.
• In line with our attention to being good stewards of the natural environment, Rushcliffe Oaks does not permit the release of doves, butterflies, or other animal life, or of balloons, floating lanterns or similar.
• Rushcliffe Oaks has a structured planting maintenance programme, and so the private planting of trees, plants, shrubs and bulbs is not permitted.
• We accept no responsibility for tributes or other items left within the grounds, but reserve the right to remove, at any time and without notice, any flowers, plants or tributes that are deemed to have deteriorated, been damaged or become unsightly.

This guidance has been drawn up to ensure that Rushcliffe Oaks is managed and utilised in a sensitive and appropriate fashion for everybody. We aim to balance the requirements of individuals with the maintenance of a safe and orderly environment, whilst also promoting good stewardship of the natural environment.

Our full Policies & Procedures are available on this website, but if you have any questions about this guidance please do not hesitate to contact us at the Rushcliffe Oaks office.