The railway arrived in Ramsbottom in 1846 when the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway Company built the railway from Bury to a junction with the Manchester and Bolton Railway and extended the line northwards to Rawtenstall and opened a railway station in the town centre.
The district straddles the A676, A56 and B6214 roads with its centre north of Bury, south of Rawtenstall and north east of Bolton.