March 4, 2024

Our South Copeland Development Officer, Beresford Moyle Rosser, gives us an update on what’s he’s been up to recently, and sings the praises of Millom and it’s people:

 

It is said that Millom is the town Cumbria forgot.

Certainly, it is not easy to get here being an hours drive from the M6 motorway, a good 50 minutes drive around the Duddon Estuary to get to Barrow in Furness which is just across the water from us and a 2 hour drive to Carlisle. There is a very limited bus service Monday to Friday with it’s one departure and arrival and trains – more frequent than a bus perhaps – often cancelled due to lack of crew or other events down the line.

All of this makes for a resilient community where people support one another through the hard and good times. We may not have a coffee shop to linger in and watch the world go by, but we do have warm hubs running most days of the week where people can gather and share the events of the day. And with community groups, such as the Millom Network Centre, providing a vital service to combat loneliness in an increasingly older generation with the provision of its men’s lunch club and meals on wheels service, we manage and get by!

On Tuesday, 20 February, 10 organisations had a stand at our first Annual Volunteer and Trustee Recruitment event and we had members of the public travel from as far as Egremont to attend. It was heartening to see local people still wanting to help and support and do their bit for the community.

It is this spirit of community engagement that keeps small towns like Millom strong and resilient and – more importantly – looking out for one another through the good times and bad.