We offer a beautiful and tranquil place in a natural setting for intimate funeral gatherings that reflect personal values and beliefs.

We provide alternative ceremonies that honour and respect the earth, recognizing the importance of place, family, friends and memories that define us.

Matara is dedicated to exploring the human spirit and a deeper relationship with nature. When we lose touch with the natural world we also lose touch with our selves.  Many people when they reach the end of their lives are drawn back to nature.

We are pleased to invite you to visit Matara to see for yourselves and share with you ideas that other people have found valuable and healing, including ways your guest’s can participate and feel part of the gathering.

The Matara Centre and its 26 acres of woodland and parkland, set in a conservation area of outstanding natural beauty, is a special place dedicated to celebrations of life, following the continual cycle of renewal from birth, marriage and death.

There is something very special about funerals held outside in a garden, meadow and woodland. Green funerals continue to grow in popularity where the environment is kept as natural as possible.

Being outside emphasises that death is a natural part of life. Outside you can see the views, hear birdsong and running water, feel the wind, which is symbolic of change and spirit, be aware of the fiery warmth of the sun and feel the earth, to which we return. Outside, we become more aware of the world we leave when we die with its joy and its sadness, the fallen leaves and the emerging buds and flowers.

Together we are creating a unity parkland through our tree dedications, to commemorate the cycle of life including births, weddings and the passing of a loved one, as well as providing a haven for wild life.

Planting a tree is a living symbol to honour life cycles and faith in the future. People come back each year to see their tree grow and the unity meadow evolve.

One of the favourite places of Matara is our ornamental herb garden. This will be a living garden of medicinal and culinary herbs as well as an area to attract butterflies, birds and bees. You will see herbs growing wild, sweet peas, rhubarb, and daisies, rows of lavender covered with buzzing bees, as well as sun flowers and roses. The garden celebrates the many expression of life in all its diversity and unity.

People are welcome to come back time and time again and see their tree grow and the unity meadow evolve.

Funerals provide the living with an opportunity to honour loved ones and to express publicly what they meant to them and how they made a difference on Earth. The celebration of a life at Matara is a helpful first step in the long process of grieving, letting go and healing.

Making the process your own

We make our Centre available for decorating in the way you wish with photographs, paintings, flowers etc. The task of doing this can be a very beautiful ritual for family and friends.

Personal funeral services can be more creative, unforgettable and meaningful. Matara is an ideal setting to transform family memories into ceremonial creations. 

We only have one event a day so there is all the time, space and privacy you will need. You are welcome to celebrate with music, poetry, singing, dancing, laughter and tears.

Our promise is to do everything for you with love, care and the utmost sensitivity.

We can provide whatever refreshments you may require whether it be cream teas, a summer lunch or a hot buffet.

When the hurry of everyday life is put aside for a short while and we step into a beautiful, tranquil space that has been prepared for special celebrations, we are able to connect to what is important, what is sacred.