Gaines is open to young people of all faiths and backgrounds. But we are a Christian charity, and all our leaders are practicing Christians
When you join us on a Gaines weekend you understand that we'll set aside a small amount of time each day to share with you what it is that Christians believe, and why we believe it! We'll do that by looking together at the Bible in a relaxed setting that invites and welcomes questions.
Regardless of your background, you'll find these times not only informative, but also fun. Make of them what you will - but we promise you'll not come under any pressure whatsoever.
When it comes to safety, honesty is called for on all sides. Parents and leaders must recognise that no organisation can possibly provide an iron-clad guarantee when it comes to safety, and one should be wary of any that do! Accidents can happen, and sadly on rare occasions they do. But, rational disclaimer aside, we have policies and procedures in place that we enforce rigorously to ensure everyone is as safe as possible when in our care. Safety features not only in all aspects of our planning, it takes priority over all others!
We conduct risk assessments on all the activities run here at Gaines. Whilst these do not aim to completely remove every risk, they serve to highlight all those that may potentially exist, be they small or large. Armed with that, we are able to tailor our programmes and to implement specific measures to reduce risk as far as possible.
Camp XL has adopted a formal Child Protection Policy, based on that recommended by CCPAS, The Churches' Child Protection Advisory Service. Please ask us if you would like to see a copy.
Central to our Child Protection Policy is our insistence that all our prospective leaders submit to an enhanced Disclosure & Barrive Service (DBS) check. This will reveal any and all past convictions held by a volunteer, and so is a very useful tool in assessing the suitability of individuals to serve on any Camp XL event. Ultimately, all our volunteers serve at the sole discretion of the Centre's Director. And he, of course, places the interests and safety of children above all else.
We can cater for most youth age-groups for a weekend here at Gaines, and regularly do so for those as young as 8 and those up to and including 18.
Our other camps and houseparties - those run under the banner of Camp XL - will be targetted at a narrower age band, but this is made clear case by case on our website. Exceptionally, and subject to the express approval of the event leader, we may agree to some flexibility. Do ask us!
Talk to us, and we'll do what we can to cater for any members of your group with special dietary, physical or behavioural needs. We'll do all in our power to accommodate them if you tell us in enough time.
Gaines is part of the wider ministry of Camp XL, a registered charity which runs camps and houseparties across the country. Ultimately all of our events fall under the legal oversight of Camp XL and are staffed by volunteers who are committed Christians and who give up their own holiday time to share their faith and enthusiasm with young people.
Visit our sister site at www.campxl.org to learn more
Yes please! We rely exclusively on volunteers to run all aspects of the administration and programmes both here at Gaines, as well as on the many other Camp XL events across the country. Whether you are able to join us for a one-off weekend, help regularly in our office, or maybe spend the holiday season with us helping to man our programmes, we'd love to hear from you. As a first step, visit our help section, and then get in touch!
Our programmes are tailor-made for each group, it's not possible to give a definitive tariff here. Much will depend on your choice of activities, and the size of your group.
You can see our current basic package rates here, and most groups find these more than enough to fill a quiality weekend!
Call us on 0300 302 0080, and based on the size of your group and length of your stay we'll be able to give you a very close indication of costs.
If you run a youth group and are considering bringing your group to Gaines, then start by picking up the telephone! We'll be able to discuss the availability of dates, work with you to build a genuinely exciting programme, and give you an idea of what it is likely to cost.
When you are ready to make a booking we'll ask you to complete a short form, and send us a deposit to guarantee your reservation.
If you are an individual, and you and your friends would like to join us on one of our Camp XL holidays then you'll be able to get full details of these as well as booking forms from our main Camp XL website here.
We regret that Gaines is not available for private hire, regardless of the nature of your group. Unlike many other excellent retreat centres, our model is to provide a package that includes not only the accommodation, catering and recreation elements, but also the Bible input.
We totally understand that this model will not suit everyone. But we do promise to work closely with you and your team, and to build sessions that fit in to your ongoing programme. Talk to us if you'd like to understand more about this, and to see how we might partner with you for the benefit of your young people.
Thanks so much for an amazing weekend. We'll be back next year for sure!
