Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore the contested nature of the liminal landscape of Memorial Woodlands Burial Ground, near Bristol.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will examine the liminal landscape of the Woodlands Memorial Burial Ground at Alveston, just outside Bristol. Woodlands is one of over 200 natural burial centres which have appeared in the last two decades, reflecting our growing awareness of, and commitment to, mitigating the environmental problems that currently face the planet.

The landscape of modern day burial grounds may at first appear to be shadowy and ghostly as they are spaces that stand at the edge of people's day to day lives. After all, they are places that none of us want to visit, for if we do, it is usually to attend an event such as the burial of a relative or friend, which is coupled with loss, memory and emotion. Nonetheless, for many, they are places that are often integrated into their daily round, perhaps to walk their dogs, go jogging, tree-gazing or bird-watching or simply engage in melancholy reflection. They are also places where people may participate in illicit activity such as drug-taking or engage in sexual encounters.

Woodlands has become a landscape where the living use grave memorabilia, including letters, articles of clothing, seasonal decorations and even beer cans, to both express loss and construct memory, and to maintain, negotiate and regenerate their relationships with the dead. However, these practices are not sanctioned by the site owners and thus, as the bereaved attempt to reincorporate the dead into their everyday lives; the landscape has become a place of resistance for the families of the dead.