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Travel Instructions 2018

WARRIOR/TEEN CAMPS 2018 NORFOLK – TRAVEL INSTRUCTIONS

We do want you to have a safe and enjoyable journey to camp. Please read these notes carefully and if in doubt about anything, please make further enquiries before you begin your journey.

ARRIVAL TIME: Please do your best to arrive at the campsite between 3pm and 5pm. Tea is the first meal served on arrival day at 6pm.

JOURNEY BY ROAD: East Runton is on the A149 (coast road), just west of Cromer. On entering the village from Cromer, turn left, (right if coming from Sheringham). The lane is sign posted with an official “Camping/Caravan” brown sign. Follow this lane for about a mile. You will go under the railway line and pass village green areas (one with a duck pond). The lane narrows considerably and Manor Farm (NR27 9PR) is on the left. The campsites are just beyond the farm. Teens are in the first field on the left, Warriors are opposite, their entrance being just off the track on the right.

If you are approaching Cromer along the A148 from King’s Lynn, you will see “Manor Farm” sign posted down a lane on the left, (just after the right turn to Fellbrigg). However, please note the lane from the A148 to the farm is very narrow. You will see the camps as you come down the lane. (You may find the access easier if you go down to the village green and turn round).

BY COACH: National Express coaches run to Norwich. (The London service leaves Victoria Coach Station at 10:00 and 12:00 arriving in Norwich at 13:25 and 15:15) From Norwich, use the train service to Cromer, which leaves Norwich Rail Station at 45 minutes past the hour (journey time 45 minutes approx.). Alternatively, take the X44 bus service from stand M in Norwich Bus Station to East Runton Stores, which leaves at 20 mins and 50 mins past each hour (journey time 75 minutes approx.).

BY TRAIN: Trains to Cromer connect with Inter-city services at Norwich. (Connecting train times are 14:45, and 15:45). London trains run from Liverpool Street. (We recommend the 12:30, 13:00 or 13:30 trains). We will have staff at the station to meet the trains arriving in Cromer at 15:29 and 16:33. Please let us know if you are coming by train. 

FOR ALL PUBLIC TRANSPORT TRAVEL: The camp site is approximately 20 minutes walk from the railway station along a farm lane. We are not providing a coach at a set time this year. Campers can either find their own way to the campsite, or, if preferred, can be met at the station and they and/or their luggage can be transported to the site. We will meet all campers travelling on the trains coming into Cromer at the times indicated above. Leaders or staff will accompany them to the camp site. For those travelling on the local bus service, alight at East Runton Stores and phone the Camp mobile phone number. CAMPERS WISHING TO BE MET MUST GIVE CLEAR DETAILS ON THE TRAVEL REPLY FORM.

To reach the campsite from Cromer: Walk up the hill from the station (Holt Road) until you reach Sandy Lane (the first road on the right after leaving the railway station). Go down Sandy Lane to the end of the road (by Anglian Water), then continue along the rough farm track (Newstead Lane). The camp fields are at the end of this lane, just after you have gone under the railway line.

RETURN JOURNEY: We will ensure that all campers and their luggage are in Cromer for the 09:55 train, arriving in Norwich at 10:41 (and London at 12:55).
National Express coaches leave Norwich at 10.45 and 13.15, arriving in London at 14:20 and 16:40.

If you would like a packed lunch for the return journey, then please indicate this on your travel form. Thank you. On the last week, leaders are welcome to stay and help with work on the camp site.

We trust you all have a safe journey. See you in Norfolk.

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Help load the lorry

Can you spare a few hours to help load or unload one of your lorries?

We need some extra help in Coventry, West Midlands and in Cromer, Norfolk, between 18th and 20th July.

No experience necessary, just a willingness to get stuck in!  

If you can give some time, please get in touch with the office. 

If you would like to spend some more time with us, there is always prep week! Lots of work to be done, food and accommodation provided, awesome fellowship! Have a chat to the office to find out more. 

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Leaders Training Days

If you are planning on coming to Warrior or Teen Camp to help this summer in any capacity, you need to come to one of our super awesome training days!

This year you can choose between one of two venues…

  • Poynton – 23rd June
  • Seer Green – 7th July

Please contact the office to book your place today!

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A Tribute to Brian Bancroft

It is with great sadness we share the news that Brian Bancroft passed away in February of this year. Please hold his family and friends in your prayers. 

A tribute to Brian, written by Paul Round….

Imagine a field bathed in warmth by the early morning sun.
Rows of white round tents, set in groups sit peacefully – then we hear the sound of a bell, a gentle clanging and then a voice bursts into song. “All things bright and beautiful, all
campers great and small, Leaders wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all”. “He gave us beds to sleep on and tents in which to dwell and early in the morning you hear this little bell”.
Thousands of campers and adult leaders and helpers have woken to those sounds at WEC Teen Camp over many years as Brian brought the camp to life and started the day. At Teen Camp the daily routine of meals, meetings and activities were all announced by Brian, with his floppy hat, his fluorescent and often odd socks and his bell. This is how many of us will remember Brian.
It was back in 1971 when Brian first took young people to camp, first to Warriors and then as the group got older, to Teen Camp. For a time each summer he did a week at each. In the 1980s when there was no WEC Youth dept, Brian was part of a group who met to pray and plan for the summer and organise the Camp programme for Warriors and Teens. He has been part of the Camp Staff Team for around 35 years and for many of those years he, with Jean, has
been there when camp was set up and there when tents were packed away. He was a strong advocate for Warrior Camp and Teen Camp over many years.
With his jokes, his stories to keep everyone occupied if the kitchen team needed a few more minutes to get the meal ready and those phrases … regarding food ‘if it is going to go to waste, it might as well go to my waist’ ‘the battle for the morning is won the night before’ as he tried to hurry campers back to their tents … with those jokes, stories and
phrases Brian became a legend – and was described as such by many. He was as part of Camp as the tents, tables and benches. His end to every meal has become part of Teen Camp liturgy. “The water’s out “, Brian declares, to which the response is given, “you may wash up”.
Personally, I was privileged to have Brian as my right man for many years. A good friend, loyal, reliable, totally committed, faithful and with a servant heart. My memories are not just from the summer. Like guard dogs, at a camp reunion we’d position our beds between the boys’ and girls’ dorms to ensure no midnight meetings. At camp and through the year we enjoyed real deep fellowship together.
So why did Brian, (and Jean), spend their summer holidays on Camp? Why did they do this for so many years? One email I received just after Brian died described Brian as ‘a someone whose fervour for young people meeting Jesus was inspirational’. Brian loved Jesus and he wanted other people to know Jesus too.
WEC Camps has a strong discipleship and mission focus. Learning from God’s word, the Bible, is central and Brian was totally committed to seeing young people become, then grow as Christians. Brian was an encourager at many levels too, not least in helping the campers think about those serving God around the world. “Can your missionary afford to buy an ice cream? he would ask, perhaps before we took up the weekly offering. Over the years you would find Brian up front leading meetings, speaking, bringing truth from the Bible, but he was also someone who would work behind the scenes, getting on with those jobs no-one sees, checking this, servicing that, fixing something else.
We are all going to miss him. I’m going to miss his practical skill on set up week too. In recent years others have taken on up front roles, yet with his servant heart Brian was there again as usual last summer, just getting on with what needed to be done, from set up to pack up. We know he did love the old hymns – any excuse to sing Bread of Heaven as grace before a meal, particularly if it was hot rolls for breakfast but he also maintained that ability to engage with young people and encourage them on in their Christian faith.
He often described his role as that of a sheep dog – ensuring those wayward campers got to the right place at the right time. I don’t think we’ll ever know how many young people, wayward in a spiritual sense, have been gently directed into that pen, the Kingdom of God, through Brian’s work, both in word and deed over so many years. Brian would be the first to say it is all of God. He must have the praise and the glory and that is true, but it is also true that God recognises the ‘faithful servant’ who perseveres, even when life is tough, sticks at the task, is in it for the long haul, faithful to the end.
Brian was also a strong WEC supporter in other areas too, attending prayer and regional meetings, sending out A4 papers with testimonies. (WEC’s broadsheet ministry) and going down to help prepare Bulstrode (WEC HQ), for big events, including cleaning the windows and supervising car parking.
I’m sure you’ve heard the quotation ‘well done, good and faithful servant’ many times before. I’m sure that as Brian met his Lord, that is what was said.
Brian died on the morning of Tuesday 13 th February. He is now with his Lord Jesus. We give thanks for his life and all that he did to enrich WEC Camps, Warrior and Teen, over so many years.

Paul Round. March 2018.

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WEC Camp Taster Day 2018

You are invited to the WEC Camp Taster Day!

Saturday 10th March 2018, 10am to 2pm at St John’s Church, Main Road, Southbourne, West Sussex, PO10 8LB.

Come and see what camp is like, meet others who are going and chat to some of the leaders. All welcome, ages 9+ (including 18+ who are interested in being on team). We will provide lunch & snacks, games, teaching and fun in true WEC Camp style. We hope to see you there – the taster day is all free!

Why not bring along a friend who might like to come to camp this summer?

If you come to the taster day and want to book on to camp brochures and forms will be available. You can take advantage of the early bird discount!

Parents: There will be a short consent form to fill in on arrival. It would also be helpful to know of any specific dietary needs in advance.  If you are traveling to the area to bring your young person, there is plenty to do locally. There are some great costal walks around Southbourne, Prinsted and Thorney, and the village of Emsworth is just down the road. The City of Chichester is a short drive away with plenty of history, shopping, culture and places to eat. 

Please contact Jon Robinson to confirm your place at the taster day, or for more information: 07969 230066 / jonny.robinson@gmail.com 

Download the poster: WEC-Camp-Taster-2018.pdf

Church Website (for directions): www.stjohnssouthbourne.com