Charlie
Founder, Cremation Guide · 20+ years in UK funeral care
Last reviewed 4 July 2026
Why I built this
I’ve spent 20+ years working in the UK funeral industry — in customer-facing roles at a natural burial ground near Bolton, and alongside funeral directors across the North West, guiding families through exactly the decisions this site helps with. I built Cremation Guide after seeing, repeatedly, how much pressure people were put under during an already unbearable week: too many choices presented at once, too many things quietly upsold, and rarely anyone in the room willing to say plainly, "here's what you actually need, and here's what you don't."
This site is my attempt to give people that sentence before they ever sit down with a funeral director. It's separate from my day-to-day work — it doesn't name or benefit any employer, and it isn't run by a funeral provider.
A note on my name: I go by first name only here, on purpose. I work in the industry day-to-day, and using a surname publicly could put my employer and the families I work with in an awkward position — this site is honest and independent, but it isn't officially connected to where I work, and I'd rather keep it that way for everyone's sake. Everything else here — the experience, the figures, the recommendations — is exactly as real and accountable with or without a surname attached. If you ever want to check something or ask a question directly, my email below always reaches a real person who reads and answers it.
What my experience actually covers
Leading and helping to hold ceremonies
Standing with families through the service itself, not just the arrangement beforehand — which is where the small, specific detail on this site's guides mostly comes from.
Preparing burial plots and placing ashes
Hands-on work at a natural burial ground — the practical, physical side of what happens after a service ends, not just the paperwork side.
Grounds maintenance and planting memorial trees
Ongoing care of a burial ground over the years, well after any one family's arrangements are finished — a longer view of what a resting place actually involves.
AAT-qualified accountant
A recognised UK accountancy qualification (Association of Accounting Technicians), which is exactly why the cost figures, price comparisons and numbers on this site are handled carefully rather than guessed at.
Seeing real price lists and real quotes
A genuine feel for what things actually cost, where prices vary, and where add-ons get introduced — used to sanity-check every figure on this site against its published source.
Sitting with families making the decision
The direct source for this site's most distinctive content — the honest "questions to ask, and what they may try to sell you" sections on every guide.
What this site is — and isn't
Being clear about the edges of my expertise matters more here than almost anywhere else. This site can tell you, with confidence, about UK cremation types, costs, the registration process, and the questions worth asking a funeral director. It is genuinely not a substitute for the professionals below, and where the honest answer is "see one of them instead," the decision tool says so directly rather than guessing.
Not a solicitor
Questions about wills, disputed estates, or protecting money from care fees need a solicitor or a SOLLA-accredited later-life adviser — this site names those routes rather than attempting the advice itself.
Not a financial adviser
Prepaid funeral plans, benefit eligibility and money management sit with FCA-regulated advisers and the official government schemes this site links to — not with me.
Not a bereavement counsellor
If grief itself is the hardest part right now, Cruse Bereavement Support and similar services are built for that in a way a decision tool never can be.
Common questions
Why does Cremation Guide only use a first name?
I work in the funeral industry day-to-day, and using a surname publicly could put my employer and the families I work with in an awkward position, even though this site is entirely independent of that work. The experience, the figures, and the recommendations here are exactly as real and accountable either way — every fact is checked against a named source on the methodology page, and my email always reaches a real person.
How do I know this site isn't just AI-generated content with no real person behind it?
The clearest proof is specificity: the questions-to-ask and upsell sections on every guide come directly from years of sitting in arrangement meetings, not from a general knowledge base. Below is a public log of real corrections made to this site — genuine evidence it's actively maintained by someone paying attention, not left to run itself.
Corrections & updates
A public record of real changes made to this site, so "we fix mistakes when we find them" is something you can see rather than just something we claim.
Updated all cremation cost figures across the site to the SunLife Cost of Dying Report 2026 averages, replacing the previous broader estimate ranges.
Corrected registration deadlines and cremation paperwork guidance to reflect the September 2024 medical examiner reforms in England and Wales, including the removal of doctors' cremation form fees.
Added sourced references across every guide page, plus this site's methodology page explaining exactly how facts are checked.
Independence — stated plainly
The site earns nothing whichever way someone's answers point, which is precisely what lets it be honest about pointing them somewhere other than a purchase. The full detail on how facts get checked and recommendations get decided lives on the methodology page.
Get in touch
Spotted something wrong, have a question, or just want to say hello: charlie@cremationguide.co.uk. I read every message myself, and genuine corrections get made as soon as they're verified.
See it in practice
The best way to judge any of this is to try the thing itself.