Casting for Recovery's triumphant return to Wales

Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland, the medical fly fishing programme for ladies who have, or have had breast cancer, returned to Wales during the weekend of 11-13 May after a five-year break. Twelve ladies from across the country attended the retreat at the beautiful Garnffrwd Fishery in Carmarthenshire. Jamie Miller from Garnffrwd Fishery was extremely generous and provided home-made cakes for all the ladies at their coffee breaks as well as the fishing itself.

Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland is run by The Countryside Alliance Foundation (TCAF), the charity set up to increase access to the countryside and to use it for education, fun and therapy. It works on the simple truth that fly fishing is wonderful therapy for those recovering from breast cancer.

The programme takes ladies on a two day residential retreat where fly fishing tuition is part of a packed itinerary that also includes counselling, relaxation and medical advice. The residential retreat offers therapy for both body and mind with the medical and counselling aspects complimenting the gentle physical therapy of the fly casting motion.

On the Friday evening the ladies enjoyed a one-off performance from the singer Toriah Fontaine who was accompanied by Sally Ann Isles on the bongos, it was a fabulous night with everyone dancing.

We are extremely grateful to the fly fishing and medical volunteers who take time to ensure that the ladies all enjoy their weekend. A special thanks must also go to the volunteers from the Welsh Bank Team and the Welsh Ladies National Fly fishing team who provided one to one guiding. We would also like to thank Garnffrwd Fishery for their fantastic hospitality throughout the weekend, they truly went above and beyond to make sure the ladies had the best weekend. But most of all we are grateful to the ladies for choosing to take the chance and apply for the programme. We hope they all enjoyed it!

Casting for Recovery's Sue Shaw commented: "Our aim is to support these ladies who have been profoundly affected by cancer and to give them an unforgettable weekend, helping them to build confidence and move forward. The ladies received medical support and relaxation over the weekend and the buzz around lunch on Sunday was tangible – you would think that the ladies were life-long friends – in some cases this may well happen."

Photo credit: Gayle Walsh