Yes, best you will do if Girobank/A&L
Pay in cash there, and then transfer it to another account!
Tradtional banks dont like cash, the postoffice however has a high need for cash (to pay benefits etc) so is substantially cheaper than your local bank. We had the same problem with HSBC, in the end the manager told us that he didnt was cash anymore (as it was a problem) and to use Girobank.
A second charge to be aware off is "debit turnover". We was also paying a fee p per 100 for any debits from the account. Hence if we transfer the cash from Girobank to HSBC and then wrote cheque we would pay again.
Once you are able to pay cash into an account, you dont need a local branch anymore. Have a look at
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who allow up to 200 Transactions per Statement Month on your Account, provided a minum balance of 5K is maintained