When I lived in Chatham I used to go swimming two or three times a week, sometimes more often. I walked about 2km across Great Lines from my house in Chatham and then swam in the lanes, early in the mornings (before the schools used the pool).
That changed a bit during the lockdown. At first the pool was completely closed (I guess they were frightened we would be too healthy and therefore able to fight off Covid on our own).
Gradually things lightened up and I started to be able to go reasonably often.
But the main point was that it was always free. I thought that the Government published some legislation encouraging pools to let pensioners like me swim for free, in order to reduce dependency on the NHS. Well maybe not.
In Millom there is no swimming pool and even wild swimming requires a lengthy car journey. The Duddon, the nearby estuary, is treacherous and dangerous.
So, as far as I can discover the only sensible way to swim is to go to Barrow on Furness, a half hour train journey. Trains are infrequent and unreliable. The return journey costs £4 and the pensioner's ticket at the pool is a further £4 (ish).
It won't break the bank but it is a shock to the system.
Jonathan Brind