Crap Towns / Greater Manchester / Ramsbottom
Ramsbottom
65/100Crap Score
342nd crappest of 984 towns, and 49th in Greater Manchester. Higher scores are crapper.
Have your say
Crap Town of the Year 2026/27
See the raceThe public vote. It's separate from the Crap Score, and it closes on 31 December 2027.
Letters from the locals
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agree it's crap have defended it
Rammy. Lovely. Can't park.
They throw black puddings at Yorkshire puddings here, then go for a craft ale like it's normal.
Rammy used to be a mill town. Now it's wine bars, steam trains and folk from Manchester pushing prams up the hill. Once a year they chuck black puddings at a stack of Yorkshire puddings and nobody can tell you why. You won't find anywhere to park.
It's wet on 182 days a year, nearly 1,400 mm of it, so it's half the year in a wet coat. For a town that bangs on about its food, 2 of the 14 takeaways with a rating come in at 0 to 2 for hygiene. Peel Tower's up on Holcombe Hill if you fancy a walk, which you'll be doing anyway.
What the score is made of
Ten ingredients, each marked out of 100. Higher is crapper.
Ramsbottom's 98 for rain means it's crapper than 98% of towns.
- Rain98/100182 days of rain a year, at least 1 mm, 1991 to 2020 average
- Fly-tipping73/10015.8 incidents per 1,000 people a year, Bury council area, 2022-23 to 2024-25
- Food hygiene72/1004.6% rated 0 to 2, of the 88 food businesses with a rating
- Sewage spills68/100561 spill hours per 10,000 people a year, storm overflows within 1 km, 2023 to 2025
- Criminal damage and arson58/1007.7 per 1,000 people a year, July 2023 to June 2026
- Air pollution50/1008.7 µg/m³ of nitrogen dioxide and 6.4 of fine particles, 2024 average
- Broadband49/1009.3% of premises can't get gigabit, January 2026, and 5.8% across the Bury council area
- Anti-social behaviour45/10014.7 per 1,000 people a year, July 2023 to June 2026
- Deliberate fires33/1004.5 per 10,000 people a year, April 2023 to March 2026
- Serious road collisions27/1001.8 per 10,000 people a year, fatal and serious, 2021 to 2025
| Pos | Town | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | Droylsden | 70 |
| 46 | Tyldesley | 68 |
| 47 | Westhoughton | 68 |
| 48 | Lees | 67 |
| 49 | Ramsbottom | 65 |
| 50 | Marple | 64 |
| 51 | Golborne | 62 |
| 52 | Reddish | 60 |
| 53 | Stretford | 58 |
Ramsbottom by numbers
Thinking of moving here? Don't say we didn't warn you.
Crime, muck and dodgy water
- 87.7 crimes per 1,000 people a year (July 2023 to June 2026) Worse: 15% higher than the typical town's 76.2
- 3 reports of potholes and bad road surfaces on FixMyStreet, the most reported problem in the year to October 2026 Better: 1.8 per 10,000 people, 47% lower than the typical town's 3.4
- 2 serious pollution incidents within 1 km since 2016, the latest in 2022
What's left on the high street
- 16 pubs, 4 hairdressers, 1 charity shop, 1 bookmaker, 1 Greggs on the map here as of 1 October 2026
- 14.3% of takeaways rated 0 to 2 for hygiene (2 of 14) Worse: 3.6x the typical town's 4.0%
- 1 banking hub opened here
- 2 public toilets on the map (October 2026) Worse: 1.2 per 10,000 people, 25% lower than the typical town's 1.6
- 2 public swimming pools open Better: 1.2 per 10,000 people, 1.7x the typical English town's 0.7
- 1 place on England's Heritage at Risk register
Getting about, getting online, getting rained on
- 12.58am last bus out on a Wednesday Better: Later than the typical town's 12.14am
- 0.8% of premises can't get superfast broadband (January 2026) Worse: 1.6x the typical town's 0.5%
- 35.1% live more than 400 metres from a park or play space Worse: 2.3x the typical town's 15.5%
- 1,346 hours of sunshine a year (1991 to 2020 average) Worse: 12% lower than the typical town's 1,532
Bury council
Have a crap-off
Ramsbottom against your mate's town, and a match ticket to rub it in.
- ?Fly-tippingper 1,000, council area?
- ?Anti-social behaviourper 1,000 people?
- ?Serious road crashesper 10,000 people?
- ?Sewage spillshours per 10,000 people?
- ?Food hygienerated poor?
- ?Criminal damageper 1,000 people?
- ?Dirty airµg/m³?
- ?No gigabitof premises can't get it?
- ?Deliberate firesper 10,000 people?
- ?Raindays a year?
Ten ingredients. One verdict. Who's crapper? The higher Crap Score takes it.