General

A local 11-year-old has landed her very first retail spot, with The Whispering Moon gift shop in Ramsbottom giving her a shelf to sell her handmade crafts from.

Emmy spent Easter making stock and now has necklaces priced at £2 and bracelets at £2.50 available in the shop. Other items start from as little as £1. Brilliant for a browse and even better if you pick something up.

The Whispering Moon is open 10am to 5pm and is opposite the urn in the town centre. If you’re out shopping in Ramsbottom, it’s well worth popping in to support her.

It’s a big deal for a young person to take that first step into selling their own work, and it sounds like Emmy has put in a proper shift to make it happen. Lovely to see a local business getting behind her too.

Have you spotted Emmy’s stall or picked something up? Let us know in the comments!

If you’ve ever wondered how the cafes, restaurants, takeaways and other food businesses in Ramsbottom are rated for hygiene, this is the list for you.

I’ve pulled together the current food hygiene ratings for all 56 businesses in the BL0 postcode area, based on the Food Standards Agency database. There are another eight awaiting their first inspection or a re-rating, but they’re not included here.

The ratings run from 5 (very good) down to 0 (urgent improvement necessary). Most places in Ramsbottom do well, but there’s a fair spread across the board. It’s worth remembering that a rating is a snapshot of hygiene standards on a particular inspection day, and businesses can request a re-visit if they’ve made improvements since.

I’ve listed each business by name and address, grouped by their rating. If you want to see when a specific place was last inspected or get more detail about why it received a particular score, you’ll need to check the FSA website directly. That information isn’t included here.

[Read more…] about Food Hygiene Ratings for Ramsbottom 2026

Most of us are glad to see the sun, but when it stays hot for too long it can become a genuine health risk – particularly for older residents, young children, and anyone with an underlying condition.

According to Bury Council, a heatwave health alert is triggered when average temperatures hit around 30°C during the day and 15°C overnight. The key thing is duration – those temperatures need to last for at least two days and the night in between to pose a serious risk.

If you want to understand why heatwaves cause harm and who is most vulnerable, the NHS has a straightforward guide on coping in hot weather that is worth a read.

The Met Office also runs a Heat Health Watch Alert service between 1 June and 15 September each year, so that is a handy one to keep an eye on through the summer months.

Worth checking in on any neighbours who live alone or might struggle in the heat. It does not take much.

Have you got any tips for keeping cool locally? Drop them in the comments below.

As you are no doubt aware, we’ve got another general election on the 12th of December 2019.

There are a variety of polling stations around Ramsbottom and which one you need to go to will be written on your polling card, however you can use the polling station finder by entering your postcode to look it up.

However you choose to vote, please do go out and vote if you are able to.

Ramsbottom Polling Stations

Polling district	Polling place
AA	The Eagle and Child, Whalley Road
AB	Foundation Unit, Peel Brow School, Fir Street
AC	Ramsbottom Library, Carr Street
AD	Hazlehurst CP School, Geoffrey Street
AE	St Andrews Church, Bolton Street
AF	Mobile van on car park on Lumb Carr Road

Taken from the Bury Council website

October the 12th, non-league day. What was originally setup as a social media experiment by James Doe in 2010 meaning this is the 10th anniversary of it being setup.

His inspiration for the day was brought about by a pre-season trip to Devon to watch Queens Park Rangers play at Tavistock.

Now, non-League day is backed by Premier League and Football League clubs, MPs, celebrities, media organisations, charities and most importantly the non-league clubs themselves and the fans who turn up on the day.

The BBC have got a celebration of the day in a few photos on their website.

Today, on non-league day, Ramsbottom United take on Colne in the FA Trophy in Ramsbottom. Kick off is at 3pm. The weather looks pretty decent too. Go on, why not ⚽ 😉

There are other matches that take place in the football calendar, and the non-league website has them listed here, you know, just in case Ramsbottom United are away or something.