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Our story

Born by the water

Mending Lines began with one man, one rod and a hard year — and a simple belief that the bank can give people back a bit of themselves. This is how a personal lifeline became a community.

More than just fishing
The beginning

It started with one rod and a hard year

When our founder, Chris Parker, was struggling with his own mental health, fishing became the thing he could hold onto. Quiet hours by the water gave him routine, headspace and a reason to keep going when things felt heavy.

Over time he realised the calm he'd found wasn't just luck — it was something that could be shared. Mending Lines grew straight out of that experience: a way to hand the same lifeline to young people and adults who need it most.

Chris Parker · Founder

"The bank doesn't judge anyone. It just gives them space to mend."

— Chris Parker, Founder of Mending Lines
What we believe

The ethical way to fish

We teach angling that respects everything it touches — the water, the people on the bank, and the fish themselves. Get that right, and the rest follows.

For the environment

Clean banks, careful handling and respect for the habitat that makes a day by the water possible in the first place.

For the angler

Patience, focus and calm. Skills that start on the bank and quietly carry into the rest of someone's life.

For the fish

Proper care, correct equipment and good practice, so every fish goes back stronger than we found it.

The vision

A community lake to call our own

We've already run over 2,000 sessions around Newark and the surrounding areas — and we're dreaming bigger: a dedicated community fishing & wellbeing lake, so we can welcome more people, more often, in a space built entirely around wellbeing, learning and inclusion.

We're currently petitioning to make it happen — and every voice counts.

Where we work

Newark & the surrounding areas

We run community sessions, holiday programmes and alternative provision at lakes around Newark and Nottinghamshire — bringing our outdoor classroom to wherever people need a calm place to land.

Community sessionsHoliday programmesAlternative provisionOutdoor classroom

Be part of what happens next

Whether you fish, fundraise or just believe in the mission — there's a place for you on the bank.

Donate now →Get fishing