This is Rammy

News, Information and an award winning Podcast right from the heart of Ramsbottom

Wolfie’s Bar Has Opened on Square Street

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A new bar has just opened on Square Street, and honestly, it sounds like exactly the kind of place Ramsbottom needs.

Anita McKay and Tony Hague have opened Wolfie’s on Square Street, in the unit that used to be No 5 Ramsbottom. The couple, both 49, had a clear goal: get a bar open before they hit the big 5-0. Three weeks after getting the keys, they’ve done it.

The name comes from Anita’s family. Her grandparents had the surname Wolf and ran several bars around Bolton back in the day, so there’s a real family legacy behind it.

They did a soft launch for family and friends last weekend, and the doors are now officially open this week. Tony’s been busy putting together a menu of specialty cocktails, and there’s also an Omni darts board in there if you fancy a game.

What’s really caught my attention though is what Anita said about the community side of things. She mentioned seeing a post on What’s On Ramsbottom from a young lad who said he was lonely and had nowhere to go after work.

Her response?

Go and tell him to come in, challenge the landlord to a game of darts, and have a natter. That’s a lovely way to think about running a pub.

Anita runs the Health and Wellbeing Awards, the Bolton Women in Business Awards, and the Northern Wedding Awards, so she knows her way around events. She’s planning to put that to good use with charity events and coffee mornings to support Bury Hospice, who are right next door to them on Square Street.

They’re also already buying their wine from The Vineyard across the road, with Stewart supplying the bottles. That kind of local trading is great to see.

Anita told the Bury Times: “Very much community-led, very much wanting to support the businesses that are around us.”

Wolfie’s is open now on Square Street. Worth popping your head in.

Have you been in yet? Let us know what you think in the comments.

New £143k play area underway at Whitaker Park in Rawtenstall

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Work has started on a brand new play area at Whitaker Park in Rawtenstall, and it sounds like it’s going to be a brilliant upgrade for younger kids.

Rossendale Borough Council confirmed back in February that £143,000 would be going into improving the toddler play space, and the spades are now in the ground. The whole thing is expected to take around five weeks, with the council aiming to have it ready in time for the summer holidays.

The new space will include a large play unit, improved and inclusive equipment, sensory play features, new safety surfacing and picnic areas. It’s all being designed with KOMPAN, the same team behind the junior play area that went in last year.

The focus is on bringing the toddler area (aimed at two to eight-year-olds) up to the same standard as that newer junior space, replacing worn-out equipment and surfacing in the process. As a bonus, it should also help cut down on the maintenance costs that come with ageing kit.

Councillor Adrian Lythgoe, lead member for environment at Rossendale Council, said when the plans were announced: “Families have really welcomed the new junior play zone, and we’re pleased to move forward with plans to upgrade the toddler area next. This will help ensure the whole play space is safe, attractive and enjoyable for younger children.”

If you use Whitaker Park regularly, it’s worth bearing with any disruption for now. It really does look like it’ll be worth the wait.

Full details from Rossendale Borough Council via the Lancashire Telegraph.

Will you be taking little ones down to check it out once it opens? Let us know in the comments.

Young Ramsbottom crafter gets her own shelf at The Whispering Moon

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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!

Ramsbottom’s Oliver Drake of metal band Evile is fundraising to clear his debts – and the story behind it is worth knowing

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Oliver Drake, 42, lives in Ramsbottom, plays lead guitar and sings in thrash metal band Evile, and has just set up a GoFundMe to clear the last of his debts. If you’ve not heard of Evile, formed in Huddersfield in 2004, signed to Earache Records, six studio albums, tours across Japan, the USA and Canada. One of their songs even features in the film Final Destination: Bloodlines. Not bad going.

But here’s the thing about being in a touring band that a lot of people don’t realise: it’s really, really hard to make it pay.

Oliver has spoken to the Bury Times about how years of funding the band, selling possessions, and being unable to hold down a steady job while disappearing on months-long tours gradually built up into a serious debt problem. Add in the cost-of-living crisis, and chipping away at that debt has become incredibly difficult.

He put it plainly: “Metal music is not the most lucrative genre to be a part of, and pretty much since we started, I was doing most things like writing music, logistics and everything behind the scenes. No one will give you three months off to go touring, and then you come back for two weeks and then leave again.”

Evile still exist and still play the occasional festival when something good comes up, but regular touring is off the table. Oliver now works full-time as a service engineer, which means long stretches away from his wife and two daughters, aged five and eight. Both girls have autism, and his wife, who works at a nursery, manages things at home whilst also dealing with her own mental health. The debt hanging over the household makes all of that harder.

That’s really why he set the fundraiser up. As he says himself: “It’s all for them, really.”

Alongside his day job he runs an online guitar school, streams on Twitch, and makes guitar and comedy content online. He’s done 24-hour charity streams before to raise money towards the debt, and this GoFundMe is described as “the last hump to get over.” The goal is £8,000, and it’s already raised around £3,000 in the early days.

The response from Evile fans has been something else. Oliver told the Bury Times: “A lot of Evile fans have come forward and said, ‘You helped me through tough times, so this is me repaying it’. It’s very humbling.”

Running a band for two decades, funding it largely from your own pocket, and then having to ask for help publicly takes some guts. Worth giving the campaign a look if this resonates with you.

You can find the full story over at the Bury Times.

Food Hygiene Ratings for Ramsbottom 2026

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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.

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