We are a charity run Funeral Directors offering not-for-profit cremations across most of mainland Scotland*.
Call us today on 03000 113 311.
We work across most of mainland Scotland* and will help you arrange a dignified funeral simply and quickly.
We offer a one-to-one advice service to assist in planning a remembrance ceremony. Our direct cremations give you the flexibility to create the perfect send off.
If you want to know more, call us today – we are really nice!
What to do when someone dies
Call us to start arrangements for a direct cremation at any time after the death of your loved one. We will give you all the information you need and take care of it for you. You will then be contacted by our specialist adviser who can help you plan a personalised send-off for your loved one.
We know that funeral costs can be a problem. We have no hidden extra charges, and you don’t need to pay us before making the arrangements if money is an issue.
If you are able, then we ask for a deposit of £100 before we will collect the deceased. But if money is an issue, then please let us know and we will progress without a deposit.
When you are ready, we will explain how to register the death and tell you whether you need to contact any other officials.
You won’t ever need to travel to our office, we will come to you. As we work hard to make things easy for you, we can normally do it over the phone. Please remember that there is no service at the crematorium for a direct cremation.
Many people opt for the ashes to be interred in the cairn at the crematorium, others would prefer to collect them or have the ashes returned. We will ask you about all your preferences at the right time, you don’t need to know everything just yet. We do charge a little extra to return ashes because we cover such as large geographic area (£95).
We have written a short booklet with advice and support called Doing Death Differently. You can read an online version here
There is more detailed information about practicalities on our FAQ page.
You don’t need to make any payments until you have spoken to us or signed a contract. We also don’t need a deposit if you can’t afford it. But if we have asked you to make a payment, you can do so on our payments page.
Price list
We back the CMA introduction of the standardised price list which all funeral directors must display on their website and in their premises. Click here to view ours
Cremations
Direct cremation including all fees, care and coffin – £1,345
This includes non-urgent collections, all transport, care of the deceased person at our funeral home, support/advice, fees to the crematorium (our biggest cost), coffins and a basic ashes casket. We use the award-winning Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium. Everyone using our service gets an appropriately sized Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) approved, sustainably sourced plain pine coffin – this is because we believe in environmental protection and an equal-for-all approach.
Return of Ashes
You have the choice of whether to have the ashes scattered on your behalf at the crematorium, collecting the ashes from us at the crematorium or having us meet you to return the ashes to your home.
Return of ashes to you (most of mainland Scotland*) – £95
Collection of ashes from a Glasgow Crematorium at an appointed time – £0
Ashes scattered on your behalf – £0
Surcharge for residential/hospice collection.
Our partners require an additional charge of £250 for any collection of the deceased which takes place from a location without mortuary facilities, such as a private residence, nursing home, residential home or hospice.
As a not-for-profit social enterprise, we unfortunately can not absorb this cost and we therefore have to pass this charge onto the customer. If you are struggling to pay, we will do everything we can to support you
Coffins
Everyone using our service gets the coffin as part of the standard charge without needing to pay a penny more. If you would like to purchase one of our coffins without having a cremation with us, you can do so for £100. Contact us and we will show you pictures and specifications of our FCS sustainably sourced unvarnished plain pine coffins.
Extras
Please don’t feel under any pressure to pay any more for extras such as caskets/urns, scattering tubes, plaques etc. It is entirely up to you and we won’t upsell you anything. However, we are frequently asked about these extras so wanted to present some options below. Do just discuss these or other items you would like and we will can source and provide them as part of our service.
Scattering tube – Costs vary depending on what you require
Carbon Offsetting the cremation – £20
Making payments
You don’t need to make any payments until you have spoken to us or signed a contract. We also don’t need a deposit if you can’t afford it, we ask for a £100 deposit if you can afford it and normally ask that the balance be settled before the cremation date. But if we have asked you to make a payment, you can do so on our payments page.
Viewings
We believe everyone should feel empowered to choose the end-of-life care that is right for them or their loved one.
As a funeral director who provide direct cremation only – we do not offer our clients viewings once the deceased is our care. This is due to the design of our premises.
However, we can advise our clients on how they may be able to view the deceased before we collect them.
If viewing the deceased is very important to you, then please call us in the first instance, and we can discuss whether the service we provide is the right one for you.
End of life planning
Unfortunately, we are unable to offer prepayment plans. However, if you are thinking about end-of-life arrangements, please do give us a call as we are happy to give you general advice and guidance, whether you plan to use our services or not. We are owned and operated by the Scottish Charity, Community Renewal Trust, so our priority is to support you in deciding what is the best option for you, not us.
We do offer a Register of Wishes option, which is an informal way to record your wishes so that you can let family members know what you would like to happen at the time of your death.
Simply complete a Register of Wishes form and make sure a copy is left with your next of kin or with your important documents, where it can be found when needed. We recommend that you also return a copy of the completed form to us so that we can keep a record of your wishes for future reference.
Please download the Register of Wishes form here or alternatively contact us on 03000 11 33 11 or by email to caledonia@funerals.scot
Register of Wishes is a service we offer free of charge, to give those we support peace of mind. However, as we are a not-for-profit social enterprise, we would like to suggest an optional donation of £25 which will go towards helping us to cover our costs.
If you can donate, please use one of the following methods and put ‘ROW’ followed by your surname in the reference so that we may match the payment up.
1) By debit card online by donating here
2) By cheque to “Caledonia Funeral Aid CIC” posted to our charity address – Caledonia Funeral Aid C/O Community Renewal Trust, 31 Pennywell Road, Edinburgh, EH4 4PJ
3) By bank transfer using details below.
Account number: 00636754
Sort Code: 83-21-16
Bank: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Account name Caledonia Funeral Aid CIC
Please note the donation is entirely optional and there is no pressure to make this payment.
Caledonia Funeral Aid Bereavement Support Service
Dying outside Scotland or on Scottish Islands
Please note that, with a few exceptions, our service offer is for those who have died in mainland Scotland*. However, we have partners in England and Wales, just get in touch by phone to discuss your needs.
Everyone is free to speak to us anytime if unsure.
Our commitment to excellence and dignity means we cannot be certain that we can meet our high standards if dependent on ferries and weather meaning that if on the Scottish Islands you will be better served by a local funeral director.
Greener Funerals
Caledonia Cremation is owned and operated by the Scottish anti-poverty charity Community Renewal Trust and as a such, we are committed to doing our bit to create a better Scotland, including taking care of the planet
However, we are mindful that the average cremation uses 28 gallons of fuel, emitting around 540 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
- So here is how we are striving to deliver greener funerals and become carbon negative:
- Although we provide not-for-profit funerals nationwide*, we do not have a multitude of offices scattered throughout Scotland, operating many vehicles. We limit our travel to collection of the deceased only, and work from one centralised place, operating by phone or online.
- We exclusively offer direct cremation, which is better for the environment than a traditional cremation.
- We use sustainably sourced wood for our coffins.
- We use the country’s cleanest crematorium, Clyde Coast & Garnock Valley Crematorium. They also offer to plant a tree in honour of those who have been cremated there.
- We are now offering our customers the opportunity to offset any remaining carbon footprint by purchasing a £20 carbon credit. This will fund tree planting, greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, and help foster energy conservation efforts. Please note this is not compulsory and only for those who specifically want this service.
The area we cover*
We do our best to cover most of mainland Scotland, but there may be occasions where our colleagues are not available. On this occasion we will help you source an alternative funeral director who aligns with our values and will provide you with the funeral you require.
Feedback and Complaints
As a charity owned and operated funeral directors, Caledonia Cremation’s only priority is the wellbeing of the people we support.
We aim for the highest standard of service, and therefore welcome all feedback and we take any complaints very seriously.
For information on how you can make a complaint and our procedure for dealing with your complaint, click here
To review us on Facebook, click here
To review us on Google, click here
*Our phone number is either free or the same as a local number, depending on your phone provider. Our staff can call you back if you prefer or you can get in touch by email. We normally answer anytime 24/7, but if you call outside working hours you may be asked to leave a message and someone will get back to you.
