Midlands man travelled the world scattering his fiancée's ashes

Today, aged 43, Adam is still travelling—but his journey has taken on a very different meaning. He has visited destinations across the globe, honouring Annie’s memory by scattering her ashes in places that mattered to them both – from locations filled with shared memories, to others she had only dreamed of seeing. Along the way, those journeys have helped Adam slowly rebuild his life.

“We were best friends,” Adam says. “All our hobbies and interests were intertwined. It’s hard when you’re left to do things by yourself because everything reminds you of them.”

During Annie’s illness, Adam became her carer. After so many years together, he says they had an almost unspoken understanding. “We communicated without words and always knew what each other were thinking,” he says.

After Annie died, Adam stepped away from his work as an account manager at a facilities company to process his loss. But returning to his corporate job months later felt strangely hollow, and he knew he needed to make changes in his life to help him move forward: “I took a few months off work, and when I went back it just felt like, ‘What am I doing here?’” he recalls. “Companies won’t miss you when you are gone. You can usually make more money, but you can’t make more time.”

“All these things we stress about pointlessly every day—when you see someone in their final moments, it becomes about making time count.”

Adam and Annie had always loved travelling together, so when he began to think about how to honour her memory, the answer felt natural: he would take her with him on one final journey together around the world.

He started with places that had meaning in their relationship. In Paris—the city where they celebrated their first anniversary—he scattered some of Annie’s ashes. In Crete, he visited the island where she had travelled as a teenager on an educational programme at the age of 17, using Annie’s old Facebook posts to find the exact beach she had visited.

Other destinations included places Annie had always longed to visit but never had the chance. Adam travelled to Japan to fulfil one of her biggest dreams, and later visited South Africa, scattering ashes during a breathtaking safari.

Not every moment went quite as planned. On one occasion, a sudden gust of wind caught Annie’s ashes mid-scatter and carried them straight into the beers of some fellow travellers. As poignant as the moment was meant to be, Adam says he couldn’t help but see the humour in it. He believes Annie would have laughed too.

Japan holds particularly strong emotions for him—it was the first place he travelled alone after Annie died. “It meant so much to me,” he says. “It was the first step in learning how to move forward.”

Travelling solo was daunting at first, but Adam soon began connecting with people by travelling on small group tours for solo travellers. The experience surprised him:

“There’s something really special about travelling with a group of strangers who quickly become friends,” he says. “That sense of community really helped me.”

During a WeRoad trip, Adam realised his passion for connecting people through travel, which led him to pursue a role working for the company as a Travel Coordinator—a decision that he says completely changed his life.

“The main purpose for me is to work towards happiness,” he says. “What I’ve been through makes me empathetic to people from all walks of life and helps me not sweat the small stuff.”

Now, helping others experience the joy of travel has become a mission that keeps him going.

“I don’t just do the job because I love travel,” Adam explains. “I do it because it makes me feel like I’ve found my tribe.”

He takes pride in helping people connect with one another during trips. “When we start a journey, some people will be walking at the back and be a bit shy,” he says. “I find out what their interests are and draw them into conversation.”

For many solo travellers, he says, joining a small group can be transformative. “What’s great about being a solo traveller in a small group is the opportunity to reinvent yourself among a bunch of strangers and not be judged.”

Adam says that the friendships formed along the way often last long after the journey ends: “Ninety percent of the people I’ve travelled with I’m still in contact with, and some have become lifelong friends.”

Even while leading trips, Adam says he never feels alone, “Whether it’s spending time with the group and making sure everyone is enjoying themselves, or calling another coordinator from the top of a mountain in Italy because I couldn’t find the entrance to a tunnel,” he laughs, “we’re always there to support one another, there’s a really strong sense of community.”

Adam also combines his love of cinematography with his travels and finds little moments of joy capturing stunning locations and candid moments.

He still keeps a list of destinations he hopes to see. The Galápagos Islands remain firmly on his dream list. He also hopes to return to Japan one day. And through it all, Annie remains in his heart.

“I think Annie would be very proud of me,” he says. “If it were the other way round, I would hope she would be doing the same thing.”

“Leading WeRoad group trips has made me realise that in general, people are good. I focus on providing that ‘wow’ moment for travellers – I get a kick out of that. Some people have said they won’t travel any other way now - and knowing I’ve been part of that really makes my day.”

When it comes to grief, Adam says. “It never goes away, but you can learn to move forward. I’m working towards finding happiness.”