About us

During many of our travels over the last few years, we said: ‘Shall we start one here…?’

And now it happened, here in France. We fell in love with the Loire region and we have been the proud owners of Les hirondelles du moulin since April 2023.

This is us

We are Anja and Jeroen and we have been the proud owners of our very own bed & breakfast Les hirondelles du moulin since April 2023.

Jeroen started his career as location manager for a cleaning company. He then moved on to a franchise company supplying coffee and coffee machines to businesses and until recently he was the co-owner of a great wine shop in the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands

Anja worked at a number of companies as facility manager and switched to (primary) education some years ago. ‘I will use all my creativity and put my love for cooking into our French bed & breakfast’

Please join us at our table d’hotes (2024) and together we will enjoy the produce of our garden. We look forward to receiving you in our comfortable bed & breakfast.

Anja & Jeroen

Verhalen van onze bezoekers

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Name and history

Les hirondelles du moulin takes its name from the swallows (hirondelles) that return from Africa every year in early April. They nest in one of the old stables and the young birds that fly out get their flying lessons in the courtyard. In September the swallows gather in large groups to start their journey to Africa again. In the old days there was a mill on the hill among the vineyards, hence the second part of the name.

In the 17th century the first dwelling was built and the first vines were planted. The dovecote is the oldest surviving building and is still intact. In our backyard you will find the old village well still in authentic condition and well preserved. Up until 2014 the villagers had right of way because the well in our garden used to be the water supply for the entire village!

Since 2018 the old wine estate has been used as a flourishing bed & breakfast. From 2014 to 2018 the former Dutch owners worked hard to renovate the dilapidated estate step by step to what you see now. In the coming years we will continue this work.

Starry sky and saffron

Sassay

The village of Sassay is in the French department of Loir-et-Cher, in the Centre-Val de Loire region
On many village name plaques in France you will find drawings of flowers, indicating the floral nature of the village. On other name plaques you can see ‘stars’ indicating the quality of star gazing in that village. Sassay boasts 4 stars! Our stargazer telescope will get you a little closer to the beauty in that far far away sky!

Contres

Contres is a larger town at 2.5 km from our location. You will find a number of restaurants there together with shops and supermarkets. It is easy to reach by bicycle.

Saffron

Saffron…red edible gold. In the course of 2024, we started cultivating part of our land for saffron cultivation. In August of that year, a thousand crocus bulbs were planted. At the beginning of November, the first flowers emerged from the soil: what a beautiful sight those light purple flowers with their bright red pistils. Picking the flowers and removing and drying the pistils must take place on the same day. After drying, the saffron ripens for 2 months and can then be used in all kinds of dishes and products. What a wonderful scent is coming from our ‘Sassay Safran’. Of course you want to smell and taste this yourself and that is possible! You are very welcome, please ask about the possibilities

About us

During many of our travels over the last few years, we said: ‘Shall we start one here…?’

This is us

Verhalen van onze bezoekers

Name and history

Starry sky and saffron

Sassay

Contres

Saffron

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