Latest News & Events
Spooky Family Fun Day
Join us for our Halloween Event! We are hosting a Spooky Family Fun Day on Sunday 22nd October 2023 from 12 noon - 3 p.m. There will be craft stalls, games, glitter tattoos and much more We [...]
Bleakholt Community Cafe
We are starting a Community Cafe every Wednesday from 4th October at our on-site cafe. The Cafe will be open from 11.15 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. It's free and just a place to come, have a chat, [...]
Bleakholt 2024 Calendar
Our 2024 Calendar is now on sale at just £7 each! Available in our onsite Shop and from the online shop by clicking here It features past and present residents - and very photogenic they are too! [...]
Haymaking Time at Bleakholt
Good things come to those who wait - haymaking time finally arrived with the weather! And what a haymaking it’s been, with our biggest crop yet at 1,400 bales! The team this year has been absolutely fantastic. [...]
So many Cats needing help
There are always animals needing our help, but Bleakholt, just like every cat rescue, is struggling to cope with the vast numbers of cats needing our help. In just 12 hours recently, a litter of ten day-old [...]
New Ambulance now Needed!
Our trusty Bleakholt Ambulance Van has finally given up! It is not financially viable to keep on ‘fixing it up’, so we must buy a replacement to make sure our animals can be transported safely to the [...]
Bleakholt Xmas Market – 18 November 2023
Saturday 18 November 2023 - Bleakholt Christmas Market! At: Civic Hall, Market Place, Ramsbottom, BL0 9AJ Time: 10 a.m - 4 p.m. We are looking for Christmas Crafts to sell on the day. If anyone is interested [...]
Summer Raffle – get your tickets NOW!
UPDATE! The Raffle closed today and we raised a fabulous £1,748! Huge thank you to everyone who bought tickets and those who donated such fantastic prizes. The winners have been informed & congratulations to them all We [...]
Bleakholt Fun Dog Show 2023
UPDATE! A massive thank you to everyone that came to our Dog Show. We raised a FANTASTIC £3,936! Special thanks to our Judge, Stacey Edwards and all the staff and Volunteers who made it possible. We hope [...]
Bleakholt President Gemma – It’s a boy!
Huge CONGRATULATIONS to our President Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez on the birth of their son Wishing Gemma, Gorka and Mia much joy and happiness - enjoy your family time together and have lots of fun! Lots [...]
Summer Fair, Sunday 2 July 2023
UPDATE! We raised an amazing £7,500 for our animals on the day! Thank you so much to all our Visitors and supporters. It was a lovely day and we hope you enjoyed your visit. The next event [...]
Desperately sad for this little one
This is a desperately sad case - breaks your heart This morning (31 may 2023), three-month old Lila was brought in to the Sanctuary as a stray via a vet. She is a beautiful bulldog pup, but [...]
2024 Bleakholt Calendar Competition
The competition is now closed - Check out the gorgeous Winners below! It's here - the launch of our 2024 Calendar Competition! 2024 may seem a long time off, but we are already thinking about our calendar [...]
Bowie’s safe haven
24th May 2023 and meet the beautiful Bowie. This poor boy was left tied to the gate at the Sanctuary this morning. Although micro-chipped, the number didn't tell us anything and there has been no answer at [...]
Never Off Duty!
THIS IS THE BEST STORY! Bleakholt staff were part of an amazing reunion this morning! Bleakholt Sanctuary Manager Karen Weed and Sallie Conroy, Rehoming Supervisor for Dogs, were at the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes Conference [...]
Our latest rescue
With a lot of help, we have just rescued a young Mum cat and her four kittens after they were dumped in nearby Haslingden. A cyclist found a lone kitten on Commerce Street, near to the busy [...]
Help Us to Win a £1,000 Award This Year
They're back in 2023 - the Benefact Group Movement For Good Awards! The NEXT DRAW is Wednesday 6th SEPTEMBER 2023! Throughout the year, they are giving away awards of £1,000 to nominated charities and nominations are open [...]
Our Easter Visitor – & a Happy Ending!
Our stables staff got an extra visitor over the Easter weekend after a loose pony was found roaming the streets of Edenfield/Stubbings area. It was the early hours of Good Friday morning when Joint Head of Section [...]
Bleakholt Spring Fair – Sunday 23 April 2023
UPDATE! We had a lovely day with lots of Visitors and raised a fantastic £6,327! Huge thank you to everyone who supported us and we hope you had a great day out. Our Spring Fair will [...]
Tree-tastic!
UPDATE 21 MARCH! Tree Planting day - and we're off! Fabulous turn out and things are going really well as you can see. Weather could be kinder, but....you know how it is! Huge thank you to all [...]
New Membership Scheme for 2023
We have launched an amazing new two-tier membership scheme so you can get more for your money, help the animals and become part of our fantastic charity. There is now Standard Membership and Membership Plus, with options [...]
Event Days 2023 – don’t miss out!
Don't miss our special Event days coming up in 2023! The events are all about fundraising for our animals, meeting our lovely supporters, showing off our wonderful Sanctuary - and of course, having fun! These days are [...]
Bleakholt’s Next Top Model
UPDATE 3 MARCH 2023! The judges had such a hard time choosing our next Top Model as they were all beautiful! It was so tough that TWO were selected! Minnie the dog will feature on [...]
Goat Thomas rescued from tram tracks in Manchester
A goat brought Manchester Metrolink to a standstill on a busy Monday morning, January 16th 2023! Peter, the Head of our Farm section, got a phone call from Manchester Metrolink saying there was a goat on the [...]
Dog Grooming is so important
Please remember to budget for the cost of regular grooming when taking on certain kinds of dogs. Harper (shown above), a Labradoodle, was surrendered to us very recently. The two year old has extremely matted fur and [...]
Volunteers needed in our 3 Charity Shops!
Making a difference - and having fun! We urgently have need of Volunteers to work in our Bury, Ramsbottom and Bacup Charity Shops to ensure their continued success. Volunteers will help with the smooth running of the Shops. [...]
Some of our 2023 plans
We thought you would like to know just some of our plans for Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary for 2023 which we will be fundraising for. If anyone feels they can help with these, or you would like more [...]
Christmas Grumples Goatskin
Our lovely goat Grumples Goatskin has got into the Christmas cheer! Grumples has been with us since September 2014. He was found abandoned on a stable yard with his friend. Grumples may be small but he is [...]
Max and Pascal – cheeky duo!
Our two stable cats Max and Pascal can often be found playing games! They are siblings and were found as strays, untrusting of human contact, but they moved into the staff room and now they just love [...]
Our very own Head Elf!
Our beautiful Pip loves dressing up and here he is this Christmas making a fabulous Head Elf! Pip has been with us for a long time now and he has quite a few funny little ways and [...]
Bleakholt Bookshop
Onsite Bookshop at the Sanctuary The big news is that our bookshop takings have just smashed £50,000! THIS IS AMAZING! We are absolutely over the moon! For those who don't already know, we have a Bookshop on [...]
Our Stable Staff on hard work and heartbreak
Read about the fantastic work our amazing Stable Staff carry out every day at Bleakholt! “A good sense of humour, strength and a waterproof skin” – those are the qualifications the staff say are needed to work [...]
Calendar Boy Zeeke!
Zeeke is Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary’s calendar boy this year – and we really hope his cover story will get him a home! Zeeke is a three-year-old lurcher who has been at the Sanctuary for quite a while. [...]
Spooky Family Fun Day 30 October!
UPDATE: Fabulous Day - thank you so much to everyone who came. We raised £4,000 on the day! Join us for our Halloween Event! There will be spooky goings-on but black cat Luna Lollipop isn’t afraid! We [...]
RIP Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
It is with deep sadness that we learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. As we join the nation in mourning, we pay tribute to the contribution Her Majesty has made around the world [...]
Our New Charity Shop opens in Bacup
September 2022 - We are thrilled to announce that we have now opened a new Bleakholt Charity Shop in Bacup! The Shop is at 37A Market Street, Bacup, OL13 0AJ It is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday [...]
Use Amazon? Raise money for Bleakholt!
UPDATE! Amazon have announced that they will be closing AmazonSmile down on 20th Feb 2023. Very disappointing for us and other rescues chosen to receive their donations from your shopping. Another income stream gone.... We will still [...]
Fun Dog Show at Bleakholt – it’s back!
UPDATE! This was a fantastic day with lots of people visiting. We are thrilled to announce that we raised £3,772 on the day! Huge thank you to everyone who supported us and we hope you enjoyed the [...]
Walking the West Highland Way for Bleakholt!
UPDATE! We are thrilled to announce that Gabriel and friends absolutely smashed this and raised over £1,000 for Bleakholt! We are over the moon and cannot thank them and everyone who donated enough. Gabriel said: "We'd like [...]
Meet Gordon!
We have a new addition to our Goat Family - meet Gordon! Poor Gordon has spent some time living feral on the moors, so he really deserves this second chance at happiness. He won't be on his [...]
Summer Fun Day at Bleakholt!
UPDATE! We had a fantastic day and raised £4,336! Huge thank you to everyone who came along to support us and we hope you had a lovely day. Our next big Event here at the Sanctuary is [...]
Help us to win a £1,000 Grant!
UPDATE! We have been awarded a grant of £1,000 so are over the moon! Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us - this is your gift to the Sanctuary The Benefact Group are again [...]
Easter Eggstravaganza Event – Sun 10 April 2022
UPDATE: We had a fabulous day and so lucky with the weather! We took an amazing £5,448 on the day! Huge thank you to our Staff and Volunteers and to everyone for their support - we cannot [...]
380 mile Manchester to Paris Challenge for Bleakholt
We are thrilled that Symon Hughes has undertaken this epic challenge and is hoping to raise £3,000 for Bleakholt! He is doing a 380 mile walk from Manchester Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, starting on [...]
Weather eh?
What a lot of weather we've been having! Rain, rain, go away......! Our goats really don't like this heavy rain and they always look a bit miserable on goat mountain and head for the shelters. [...]
Sanctuary Visitors Update!
We are currently open to Visitors from Thursday - Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. so do pop in and see us. No need to book - just come along and meet all our gorgeous residents. [...]
Celebrity Catchphrase with Gemma Atkinson
UPDATE! Huge thank you to Gemma who won £5,800 for Bleakholt! Absolutely thrilled! Our President, Gemma Atkinson, took part in an episode of Celebrity Catchphrase last year and Bleakholt was Gemma’s chosen charity. The episode will be [...]
Mud, Toil & Tears – Bleakholt’s early years
Irene Macauley (Priestley) wrote this book about the Sanctuary’s early years from 1967 – 1969 and it is an account of daily life at Bleakholt from the point of view of one of the kennel maids during [...]
It’s a family affair
We have our own little family within a big family here on the Stables! Meet Mum Dandy and her daughter April. 27 year old Dandy is a cute, chestnut Shetland pony who came to the [...]
Grant from PetPlan Charitable Trust
We are thrilled to receive a Grant of £6,400 from the Petplan Charitable Trust! This is a fantastic boost to our funding and we are really grateful. Petplan Charitable Trust was delighted to be selected as the [...]
Introducing Yorick!
Introducing a new member of our fabulous Goat Family in December 2019 – Yorick, who is only 2 feet tall! We rescued Yorick when someone reported to us that he was wandering about on the moors with [...]
Life as they’ve NEVER known it for these Ladies!
First Rehoming Day - Saturday 14 December 2019 We are thrilled to announce that we have volunteered to be a rehoming collection point for the British Hen Welfare Trust and we will be holding our first rehoming [...]
The Walsh Kennel Block
Mrs Dorothy Walsh - a Bleakholt Treasure We wanted to honour the dedication, hard work, support and loyalty of Dorothy Walsh by naming our new kennel block after her and her Family. Many of you will know [...]
Black Panthers in the House?
Who doesn’t love a beautiful, sleek black panther? Can this be true - should we run and hide? Definitely not! We love our black panther kitties here with their beautiful green eyes and we can assure you [...]
Refurbishment of our Rabbit Building
We have recently completely refurbished one of the buildings housing some of our animals as part of the ongoing Farm Improvement project as this was in a poor state. This is an isolation and intake area for [...]
Setting them free at last!
We recently rescued a group of ex-battery hens whose future was definitely very bleak if they couldn't be found new homes. They have spent all their lives so far crammed in tiny cages, so most are missing [...]
A Cheeky hello….
..........from our smallest pig, Jamie! Jamie was part of the craze for micro pigs and would have only been the size of a cat back then. He was abandoned here back in 2014 and although quite small [...]
Lovely sunny day at last!
It’s been a gorgeous day today and our animals have been loving the sunshine. There's been plenty of time to play and then it's so good to take time out to chill. Gilbert, Wallace and Gary are [...]
Record number of animals rehomed in 2018
Although the high demand to take animals in continues, we are proud to announce that Bleakholt rehomed more animals than ever in 2018. Last year we rehomed more than 1,300 animals – 542 dogs were rehomed, [...]
Puppy Pickle’s sad tail…
Update 22 July 2019 - watch Pickle's Vid dated 22 July on our Facebook page ! Pickle is starting to learn what being a puppy is all about! He is now walking all the time. He is [...]
Help Us to Help Them
Safeguarding Our Future Most of you will know that as a Charity we rely solely on donations and legacies for our survival. We have made it our mission to take care of those who have no-one and [...]
The importance of vaccinations & flea treatment
25 January 2019 - Meet the beautiful Cocopop who joined us at Bleakholt this week. Cocopop came in as a stray and sadly he came to us with cat flu, sore skin from fleas, an ear infection from [...]
Farm Life 2018
We would like to send out a massive thank you from our Farm section to everyone who donated treats, fruit, veg and papers for bedding throughout the year. This really was a massive help and has saved [...]
Box Bunnies
14 December 2018 These two gorgeous girls were left in cardboard boxes on the road outside the Sanctuary two weeks ago. It's sad as always, but at least they ended up in a place that is safe, [...]
Grand Opening of the new Dog Kennels by Gemma Atkinson
Most of you will know Gemma Atkinson from her acting career, or from her successful performance on Strictly last year and as co-host on Hits Radio Breakfast Show, but we are lucky enough to have her as [...]
Volunteer Posts Available
Please note that you have to be over 18 to volunteer. Is Reception work/admin duties your thing? Please make enquiries with our Sanctuary Manager, Karen Weed at the email address below. As always, we value your [...]
£100,000 Grant awarded to Bleakholt!
We are absolutely over the Moon! Imagine how thrilled and excited we are to learn that we have been awarded a Grant of £100,000 from Support Adoption For Pets! Our current dog runs need a lot of [...]
Bleakholt hosts Artists Workshop
On 14 September 2018 our Stable Section were happy to welcome the Association of Animal Artists which featured artist Lesley Humphrey hosting an art workshop for its members. It was a fantastic day and even the horrible weather didn't [...]
Microchipping our pets
Why take the risk? Please get your pet microchipped – you know it makes sense! All Bleakholt dogs (compulsory since 2016), cats & rabbits are chipped whilst staying with us before adoption. We have run a chipping [...]
Baby brothers – look at them now!
Jacob and Edward are our two British Saanen goat brothers who have been with us for 5 years now. They were only a few months old when they arrived after being found wandering on a main road. [...]
Sad to say, this is a real eye opener….
We recently took in a stray Mum and her 3 beautiful kittens who had been born on the streets. They were in an appalling way as they were suffering from cat flu. If left untreated this can [...]
Special home needed for Special ladies Rhonda & Megan
These two gorgeous girls deserve a special home with special people to love them. Rhonda and Megan have been with us since April last year when they were found in a sealed box in a field and [...]
The dramatic disguise of Boris
Those of you who know our crossbred Kunekune pig Boris will notice a big change in his appearance during the summer months and people often ask us if he’s OK. But there’s nothing at all to worry [...]
Lambs arrive at Bleakholt, just 2 days old
In May we took in two 2 day old rare breed Soay lambs. As they were separated from their Mum at only 2 days old, we knew that raising them successfully would be a challenging task. [...]
New Kennels Project – the Journey
UPDATE - picture taken on 15 October 2018 - looking amazing! The beginning - Monday 4 June 2018 We are very excited and thrilled to announce that the work has started on the brand new Dog Kennel [...]
Official Opening of our new Kitten Room
We are proud to announce that our Mum and Kitten Room has now been finished! This has had a total refit with brand new up-to-date cages, a new skylight and a complete makeover. The transformation is amazing [...]
Make way for the sunshine!
So we've had gales, snow, snowdrifts and freezing cold weather lately – but hurrah! today, Tuesday 13 March, we had some lovely sunshine! Here’s Jacob, Gary, rabbits Jenny, Sixpence & Tulula and Tulip all soaking up the [...]
Charlie cheers up!
Let us introduce you to Charlie, who is our light Sussex Bantam cockerel. Charlie was not too happy in his old home as he was housed with 3 other cockerels and was being picked on. This is [...]
Donkey Play Session – watch the video!
Our arena is a great place for our equines to run and play and generally let off steam. Of course at the same time they are having loads of fun! Here you can see all 10 donkeys [...]
How we start our day….
Great start to the day. To cheer us all up before we started work, Leo told the funniest joke ever! hmmmm…...he wouldn’t tell us where he heard it though….. just pawsed for thought! So after the joke [...]
Rescued Marty finds peace at last
We’d like to introduce everyone to Bleakholt’s new Mule inhabitant, Marty. Marty was admitted to the sanctuary on 5 January 2018 using an emergency stable as he was desperately in need of a new home. His previous [...]
Cat Foster Carers urgently needed!
Are you interested in becoming a Foster Carer for one of our Cats? Foster homes are urgently needed! If so, or you would like more info, please email us at: karen.weed@bleakholt.org You can download our poster here
Rainbows and Clouds
We consider ourselves very lucky to be able to work in such beautiful surroundings and have such wonderful views whilst we work. Not only that, but we are surrounded by all our amazing animals, giving their [...]
Bleakholt Wish List on Amazon
We have now set up a Wish List on Amazon to help us to take care of all our animals. If you would like to donate something to help with the welfare of our animals, or just [...]
Arena chit-chat
Our new (recently completed) Equine Arena is going down a storm with our residents. The Arena is in use every day and we are continuing to see the benefits for our animals. Our amazing team are doing [...]
Our animals do the funniest things
Our residents never cease to amaze us and make us laugh — just when you thought you’d seen it all. But during the course of a day, it has to be said, there can be many more questions [...]
Who knew swedes could be so much fun?
We had some swedes donated to us and our Donkeys just loved them! You can see them here tucking into this special treat and it wasn’t long before they polished them off despite the swinging ropes! Sometimes [...]
Weight watchers diet?
Tilly is the latest addition to join our happy band of pigs. When she came to us she was extremely overweight and had to go on a very strict diet, which she was not at all happy about [...]
The beauty of bunnies
These gorgeous fluff balls pictured below are Billie and Anthony, sister and brother who were around 9 weeks old when they came to us. Their Mum was found on a playing field and kindly taken in by [...]
All you need is a welly!
Our donkeys are forever playful and cheeky and they just love messing around. There are several versions of one of their favourite games but they all involve an old welly boot! You can join in a team [...]
Charity Shop Volunteers Urgently Needed!
Fundraising for our animals - URGENT APPEAL! We have two Bleakholt Charity Shops, one in Bury town centre and the other is in Ramsbottom. We urgently need more Volunteers to ensure the success of our shops and [...]