For sale

We never dreamed about it and yet our dream came true when we became campsite owners at Moulin Brûlé in 2022.

In 2019 we pitched our tent here on the border of the Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne. We never stayed anywhere longer than a few days. Here we booked three weeks on instinct. We had the time of our lives. We asked our children if they wanted to come with us to this special region. Shortly after the lifting of the covid restrictions in 2020 we drove to our rental house near Eymet. Again we had the time of our lives. The nature, the lively villages, cozy markets and restaurants. Another year later. Camping with our friends Frances and Dave in the Perigord we stumble upon an ad on the website of a realtor: Moulin Brûlé is for sale. The next day we drive there and see the place with different eyes. Still enthusiastic. We text the children in the group app called ‘La France’. ‘DO IT!’, they shout in unison.

Fast forward to now. Three seasons of beautiful people and wonderful evenings dining together. On the eve of season four. Improvements have been made to both the campsite and our house. This adventure is the icing on the cake of our working life. Because we would like to have more time for ourselves, we are now looking for new campsite owners. With or without a dream 🙂

It is a cliché: life is good here. In February, too, it is pleasantly busy on Saturday afternoons in Le Tortoni, our second living room in Eymet. Bar owner Nico greets Birgit with two kisses and Cees with a firm, warm hand. We are active in the Association Culturelle Franco-Anglaise d’Aquitaine (ACFAA) and improve our French there or work with new friends on the nativity scene for the central square of Eymet. We made friends around us – British, French and Dutch, it doesn’t matter that much here.

If we had another ten years to spend on the campsite, what would we do?

Expand the campsite. In recent years, the municipality of Agnac has been working on the PLU, which translates to a plan for the zoning in the area. In this plan, Moulin Brûlé is designated as a tourist zone. The plan will soon be submitted to the préfet of the department we are in: Lot-et-Garonne. This is comparable to a province or county. We recently (February 2025) visited Guillaume, the mayor of Agnac, to discuss this. He expects that, because the plan has been discussed and negotiated so extensively in advance, it will be passed without resistance from the préfet, hopefully this year. If our campsite is designated as a tourist zone, we can get a permit to expand to around 25 camping places. That would significantly increase the earning capacity.
Constructing gîte(s) and (semi)permanent tents. Moulin Brûlé is first and foremost a campsite. With our rural camping for adults we attract friendly campers, people who are looking for peace and space. The reality is that renting out gîtes is also very interesting from a commercial point of view. As explained above, the new zoning plans and possible permit could create the possibility to expand the existing gîte and build an extra gîte on the site. This would be an investment for the (medium) long term. By expanding the number of camping spaces, you can also think about placing permanent tents, such as safari tents. This form of camping (‘glamping’) is very popular and again commercially interesting.
Extending the dormers on the house. We live wonderfully in the house that belongs to Moulin Brûlé. It offers space and at the same time has cozy rooms. A nice kitchen, spacious and high dining room for special occasions and a cozy living room with beamed ceiling and fireplace. We completely renovated the two bathrooms upstairs in 2023. If we had one point of criticism about the house, it would be the amount of light and space in the bedrooms. The dormers on the house are characteristic, but small. We have applied to the municipality for an extension of the dormers and this has already been granted. Installing prefabricated dormers does not have to be a huge investment and will provide a lot of extra living pleasure. How wonderful it would be if new owner(s) with a passion for the place and hospitality would continue our work. If you are seriously interested, we would be happy to show you Moulin Brûlé and discuss all the possibilities.