Saluting CfR's incredible year

Casting for Recovery is the unique fly fishing programme for ladies who have, or have had, breast cancer, and has just completed its first full year of retreats in the UK and Ireland. Sixty participants have now been on one of five retreats - two have been held in West Sussex, one in Devon, one in Powys and one in Co Antrim. Next year the programme will be rolled out even further, with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland hosting retreats for the first time. Retreats last for two and half days, during which time ladies are given support and counselling alongside fly fishing instruction.  

The Countryside Alliance continues to give this innovative programme its financial backing, enabling ladies from all corners of the UK and Ireland to come together in beautiful rural locations. The synthesis of counselling and fishing gets the balance just right, with the light mood, laughter and gentle exercise of fly fishing acting as a counter point to the moving sessions where ladies share their experiences of this awful disease.  

I know I am preaching to the choir when I say that our countryside is our greatest asset, and what Casting for Recovery is doing to great effect is giving a warm rural welcome to many ladies who come from urban areas and would never in a million years have considered picking up a fly rod and heading to the bankside. The opportunity this programme offers to women across the board is phenomenal, and has been an experience all participants have valued immensely. Comments made to organiser Sue Hunter have included "this has been the best weekend of my life", going on retreat has "given me my confidence back" and "I arrived a cancer patient and left as me". The Countryside Alliance is immensely proud to be helping to make this kind of difference. I am also delighted to report that most of the ladies have become keen anglers as a result of this introduction.

If you haven't already seen Casting for Recovery's promotional film, you can do so here . Casting for Recovery is a unique and valuable way to promote the countryside and angling, and hopefully many more brave ladies will be able to enjoy the retreat experience in 2009.

The 2009 retreat schedule will be announced in the grass e-route and on the Countryside Alliance and Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland websites shortly. You can view the photo galleries of past retreats here .

This piece was written by Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart