A surfeit of memorial benches

Far too many and they are meaningless to the general passer-by. Best to let people go gently. Same with ashes scattering. Some spots have had soil and general biodiversity disrupted because of all the ash. Ben Nevis rangers had to put a stop to it.

A good source of revenue for the council though!

I think the in dea of so called Memorial benches are well past their all by date and have become an eye sore in many places.

Nice thought but their are far to many of them. Was just a way of the local council making money and looking good.

I'm sure there a lots of there ways of making tributes on important memorial days for deceased relatives.

Why not give a donation to charity,?

I think it can be a way of councils raising money for benches along footpaths where they are useful, such as coast and woodland paths. I detest the paraphernalia that adorns some of them. I hate it in cemetaries too when is artificial flowers, toys, etc. it ends up looking a tacky mess. There was a story a while back where a woman started screaming at a people sitting on bench by the coast eating chips, because it was her Dad's bench and eating chips on it was disrespectful!

My ex would not stop reminding me of his late wife. I wondered if it was guilt, it was very tedious, and it broke up our relationship relatively early on. He had paid a lot for a seat to be installed at a famous bird sanctuary, I saw photos of the kerfuffle when it was installed, people were on their knees before this thing!
It was a long drive across country to get there, luckily I avoided that, and when we moved it was even further for him to travel, so he couldn’t visit often.
When he finally did, it was to discover no bench on the sacred ground, all gone, it was now the car park.

Our local pier has the planks of wood at the sides commemorated , it’s that that is paying for the old walk way to be renewed plank by plank
I think the benches are just too popular now maybe it’d would be better if a bench could be provided by the council and a number of commemorates placed along the back of it
The RNLI does commemoratives on their boat hulls
I like trees in woods or parks personally

Local Authority here provides memirial benches but indivuduals have to pay. No maintenance is undertaken and if decreed to need repair owner must fund. If beyond repair bench is removed and destroyed. At least that's what's supposed to happen nut only last year 7 benches needed repair and a Men's Shed undertook the work, cost of wood for repairs provided by crematorium fund. The benches were 7' long and were a huge undertaking, some of the plates showed person had died as far back as the 1950s. Unbelievable.

My local cemetery is littered with wooden benches.

Far too many to count.

I understand why people put them there, but it does look somewhat littered.

At Sandown, on the Isle of Wight, people have bought memory slabs on the sea wall. I think it's a lovely idea as it gives the family members something tangible but does not clutter the prom. It also means far less upkeep. When we go on holiday there, I enjoy walking down the promenade and seeing these and seeing how many others enjoyed this beautiful beach

I have a beautiful memorial bench on a concrete base in memory of my parents in the village church yard.

Loads of people have told me they are very grateful it is there as they use it when they visit relatives graves. It is a lovely place to sit and reminisce.

We originally had a hardwood one which I stripped and treated every summer as I promised the Vicar I would keep it nice. Lasted until about 4 years ago when I replaced it with a vandal proof heavy duty plastic one which looks just like wood but just needs a wipe down now and then.

Goodness me! What silly, weak councils we have!
I sponsor a bench in Switzerland. The council there gives you a choice of location where there are vacant spots - all over the area, down lanes, footpaths etc. Your annual fee covers maintenance.
You get a renewal notice every 10 years. And the weather in Switzerland is far harsher than even on the coast in the UK.
Is such basic organisational sense beyond the ken of UK councils?

How can something like this be a problem assuming the council have 10 brain cells to rub together.

I like them and respect them

At one time there weren’t enough benches provided by Councils and older people had to struggle along without a sit down.The only ones available were those on seafronts or in parks.
So am all for extra benches but not piled with dying bunches of flowers, or fake ones or candles etc.Tbh I have only seen that happen a couple of times and it was possibly at the anniversary of a person’s death.
The Council should be monitoring how many benches there are but if not then email them about it, as sometimes they need problems bringing to their attention these days…

Our seafront is backed by long clifftop walks and you can barely move for benches. As well as our shopping street and pretty much anywhere else where there's a space.

It's the responsibility of the owner to keep them in good order, but realistically as time goes by this just doesn't happen. Then the upkeep has to be taken over by the town or parish council and they don't have the budgets or the resources to look after 100's of benches.

That's why we're seeing a gradual reduction of benches being approved.

When a friend of mine died a plaque was fixed to a bench he used to sit on every day in the country park. It said simply "sit awhile and think of me" which I do quite often.
He would have strongly disapproved of flowers or ornaments attached to the bench.
I think Doodledog's tree is the best idea. A living thing that will grow and not need much maintenance.

It just seems a very odd thing over anyone get 'freaked out' over to me. As long as they're not causing a physical obstruction on paths etc, I don't see the harm in benches and if local authorities have to give permission for them, then they can limit the numbers. If people are concerned about the proliferation of benches in a particular area, they can always complain to the authority in question.

There was a bench on a stretch of the Pembrokeshire coast path that DH and I used to make a point of making use of. It wasn’t anything fancy - no back or arms, just a timber seat and a fair walk from any access point to the path - but we loved the view as much as the man it was dedicated to, whose name was Arthur, and when we walked that stretch, we always headed for Arthur’s bench to eat our lunch.

As a regular visitor to Whitby, I don’t recognise the description of the benches crammed together that you have to weave through them.
Yes there are quite a few near the Royal Hotel, lots of people use them to rest and eat there, admiring the view.
It’s a relaxing spot to gather your breath after the climb up the steps from the harbour.

I love the benches in Whitby where they overlook the sea. As far as I remember, they're not decorated at all, and I always spare a thought for the people they commemorate.

Trees instead, I agree !

You can barely walk along the seafront for memorial benches at Deal, in Kent. Yes, a few are nice, but that many? They are about 2m apart. At least they are only placed on one side of the pier. The other side is mercifully bench-free.
Surely, if there were just a few, with dozens of plaques, it would be more appealing.
Yes, town councils are greedy for the fees, but replacement fees are very lucrative too…

Years and years ago when I was in Cornwall, I can’t remember exactly where, somewhere not far from the Eden project, anyway a walk along the cliffs and I bumped into dozens of benches, all dedicated to a variety of swimmers, water skiers etc who had lost their lives near that spot.
I remembering thinking then there were way too many, goodness knows how many there are today!

Planting something living and growing sounds just right to me.

When I last visited my grandparents grave, which was some considerable time ago, there were lots of benches but you were unable to sit on any of them as they were completely covered in flowers, ribbons, teddy bears, photos etc. They look so messy.

I agree doodle. Planting a tree is a lovely idea and to watch it grow will be nice. A memorial bench is lovely too but should not have teddies, toys, flowers etc around it. Keep it as it is, a place for others to sit peacefully and give a thought on the person whose name is on the plaque