Active rest

Hiking

The Mill Croft is on the National Blue Trail (Hungarian hiking trail), almost at its westernmost point (the Írottkő mountain). Either you are in for a light walk or plan a whole day of hiking, you will find many mountains, valleys, chirping birds, forests and clear streams nearby. The Malmozó has many books, maps, brochures and information leaflets to help you plan your tours, and we are happy to assist you with advice or to organize guided tours if required. Here are some of the sights to visit around here.

Horse riding

Time spent with horses or on horseback helps you relax and connect to nature. It’s like therapy, attuning you to the purity and joy of simple existence. You simply cannot keep worrying about the problems of this fast-paced world when you have a companion, weighing several hundred pounds, eager to show you the forests and fields.

You don’t have to be a professional rider to enjoy the company and friendship of horses in the riding stables of the Sibrik Castle, next to the Mill Croft, where trained instructors will help you from the first moments, through riding on the lunge to trail riding.

The horse farm is happy to welcome young and old, beginners and professional riders, providing them with the following services:

  • private training on the lunge or without it,
  • accompanied trail riding in groups of max. 6 persons
  • 5-day riding camps for children, several times during the summer, and in the autumn and spring school breaks; with hot meals and accommodation at the Mill Croft
  • carriage ride, horse-drawn sleigh ride in winter
  • accommodating the guests’ own horses in boxes, with twice-daily feeding and stable work

For further information and the schedule of riding camps, please contact us.

Cycling

The picturesque village of Bozsok and its surroundings offer many opportunities and great experiences for those who arrive by bike or bring their bikes with them. The Eurovelo 13 bike trail passes through the village. It is also called the Iron Curtain Trail, as it passes through 20 countries in Europe, once separated by the Iron Curtain on the very same trail, from the Barents sea in the north to the Black sea. In addition, the “Take a ride up hill and down dale” route, the 70 km section of the new Cycling AT-HU bike routes also passes through the village, and as the enthusiastic main partner of the project, we are happy to welcome cyclists with some refreshments and we can also provide accommodation for two in the Cyclers’ Lodge at the Mill Croft.

The Mill Croft is the ideal choice as the base of single-centre tours, especially the Csimbi House, which can accommodate two families or a larger company at a time. Bikes can also be stored and quickly repaired here if necessary.

Livestock farm

Fresh and processed meat at the Mill Croft is not brought from stores, but from our 4 ha animal farm. Free range pigs and Gyimes and Hortobágy racka sheep are reared in an environment as close to natural as possible, to ensure their health and happiness, and to provide our guests with really pure food. The farm is a 15 minute light walk from the Mill.

Petting zoo, animal care

Kids enjoy observing our tame animals: they can get to know them, pet them and feed them. With up-to-date information about the behaviour, habits, development and nutrition of these animals, kids will easily understand and feel the difference between home-made food, produced when the happy life of the livestock reared here is over, and food from “meat factories” with cages and antibiotics.

Pig slaughter

This programme, recommended to adults and bigger kids, follows the folk tradition, and it is exciting not only to watch but also to participate in. We need every helping hand, as it is hard work from dawn till late afternoon: we prepare delicious chitterling sausage, sausage, bacon, brawn and other delicacies for the feast dinner.

Should you wish to take part in one of the pig slaughters, please contact us.

Organic gardening

We usually serve fresh and processed vegetables and fruit (as well as herbs) from our organic garden for breakfast at the Mill Croft. Naturally, it takes a lot of work to produce these delicious, naturally-grown crops, so it is a pleasure for us when our guests help us with the tasks in the garden. Kids and adults can learn about all the activities related to kitchen garden crops, from sowing to the moment when the delicious organic vegetables and fruit are served. Guest who visit us in the middle of summer, may even pick their own pepper and tomato for the “lecsó” stew for dinner. In an organic garden the easiest way to fight pests and diseases is to create plant communities similar to those found in nature, to maintain the rich insect and soil life, and to provide a habitat for small mammals. In order to achieve this, we do every trick we can to lure and keep our little helpers, so we build artificial nests for bees and wasps, houses for hedgehogs and nest boxes for birds, assisted by enthusiastic and skillful little boys and girls.

Creating wine

For those who believe in the creative force of careful, accurate and conscientious work, the year-round process of creating wine, and its many stages from vine gardening to tasting the wine, can be a wonderful experience. Guest who are interested in wine-making can become a part of the process of creation, taking part in some or all stages of grape production and wine-making, from pruning to bottling. We believe that this creative process, which respects and works with nature, makes not only our wines more noble, but also the person who makes them. We are still learning this art, and we are more and more committed to it every year, which you can also tell from the results... The taste speaks for itself.

We organize programmes for the different stages of vine growing for our guests:

Pruning: typically on cold winter days, with instructions from a professional viticulturist. Once the work is done, we serve a hot meal in the heated cellar with a glass of nice wine.

Green works: A summer weekend is an ideal opportunity to do the vine care tasks that are due, to ensure a good harvest. These tasks include leaf pruning, shoots thinning and orientation, tying, lateral removal, leaf removal in the bunch zone and shoots tipping. Once the work is done, we cook a meal in a kettle on the vine hill, or have a spritzer on the “pier” by the cellar, enjoying the view.

Harvest: As different varieties are harvested at different times, there are several harvest programmes. Harvest is work and a festival at the same time: it is very hard but very enjoyable. Adults, children and the elderly are all happy to take part in the tasks, the most dedicated even remove berries and press the grapes, often till dawn... Of course guests who participate in the harvest are later informed what is happening to the harvested grape, so that they can take part in wine-making as well, if they wish.

Wine inspection: It’s like the first ball: we take the fresh new wines for a dance. We observe them, we taste them and of course we judge them, adore them and discuss mistakes if we find any.

Wine tasting

Of course as a guest of the Mill Croft you can get to know local wines without taking part in their production: we organize tastings of our handcraft wines and wines from the village, and sometimes we organize fine wine dinners as well. Depending on the weather, our cellar on the vine hill, 15 minutes from the Mill Croft, is a perfect venue for wine tasting. You can enjoy a nice glass of wine in the trellis and on the “pier” with a magnificent view, and when you leave the mill, you will receive an oven-baked savoury scone so that glass of wine will taste even better when you arrive. At the cellar guests are greeted with delicacies on a wooden platter: piglet ham, salami, brawns, Liptauer, different spreads and ripe tomato and pepper from our organic garden.

Our wines are fine home-made wines, or “hand-crafted” as they are called nowadays. We prepare them with the love and care they deserve, and although our wines ranked well at several competitions, we are the happiest when we can serve them to our friends and guests. Then, as we say it in Bozsok, we drink ourselves nice, which helps us understand the universe and makes our relationships closer and deeper.

Mill shed cinema

When enough people gather, we have a cinema night with the kids - or the adults. We get the screen, the projector and the speakers and turn the Mill Shed into a comfortable cinema room. Naturally we only show good films: laughing, crying, letting your heart warm and getting close to one another is highly recommended.

Culinary programmes

Those who have always wanted to see what kind of magic you can cook up from the plants from your garden, might experience it with the programmes at  the Mill Croft:

From seed to bread Grain grinding with a hand mill, kneading, leavening, and baking bread in the oven, with the heat of the fire...

Making langallĂł (fried bread dough) Baked in the oven, according to a traditional recipe, with unique toppings.

Drying fruits and vegetables Drying tomatoes and fruit, preparing apple flakes and dried mushrooms

Collecting herbs Collecting and drying planted and wild plants: sage, thyme, lemon balm, tarragon, lovage, safflower, peppermint, elderflower, lavender and calendula

Processing herbs Preparing different pestos, chutneys, home-made soaps and creams

The world of lavender Lavender can be processed in many ways: it may be distilled to produce oil, leftover water is used for baby water or water for ironing; lavender is perfect for decoration, for making wreaths, bunches, and scented pillows, as well as for syrup and soap

Crop mandalas Now it is a tradition of ours at harvest to make a crop mandala by the stream in front of our house, with some really enthusiastic helpers.

Hay and pumpkin figures At the time of the harvest parade and the Bozsoki Kalapos Napok (Hat Days in Bozsok), everyone in the village is working on figures mocking country life and the everyday life of grape farmers. We are happy to take part in this fun activity every year, and we invite our guests to join in.

Making jam from the fruit of the season

Making syrup from raspberry, blackberry, lemon balm, lavender, elderflower, mint, linden flower and locust flower

Making zacusca Made in a kettle outdoors, according to a traditional recipe

Running

Bozsok and the Mill Croft are located in a magnificent natural environment, with rocky roads, paths, tracks and footpaths in every direction. If you bring your running shoes, you can run many kilometres while listening to the chirping birds. The Mill Croft regularly organizes small running competitions, from beginner to professional level. Further information about the competitions is available here.

Nordic Walking

In addition to the Blue Trail, there are many other trails on the hills and in the forests, so those who like Nordic walking can discover new trails every day, while enjoying the clean air. We can provide maps, books and guided Nordic walking tours if required.

Yoga and Pilates

The Mill Croft is happy to host different kinds of exercise and lifestyle camps, as well as yoga and Pilates workshops. The large, grassy garden and in cool or rainy weather the Barn are ideal venues for exercise and meditation. Campers can find accommodation in the apartments of the Mill Croft, and in case of larger groups, the rooms of the Sibrik Castle are also available.

The guests at the Mill Croft can enjoy a nice exercise without joining the camp: the local Castanea Association organizes yoga and Pilates lessons in the Barn, with advance registration.

Skiing

When you are here at the feet of the Alps in wintertime, you simply can’t wait to race down the snowy slopes with your ski or snowboard. We have some good news: popular ski resorts in Austria are only 1-1.5 hours away by car from the Mill Croft, so after a day of skiing you can quickly get back to your cosy and warm apartment. You will find traditional Austrian hospitality and wonderful slopes at Stuhleck, Semmering and Mönichkirchen.

Water, Beaches, Pools and Wellness

If you enjoy the sunshine, water and like spending time on the beach, you will find the Bozsok region exciting. Spend a hot summer day at the wonderfully clear lake at Rechnitz, 5 km from us in Austria, and try the water slides and water trampoline. It is easy to access, even on foot or by bike. Lutzmannsburg, a real Austrian wellness oasis is 20 km from here, and if you drive 25 km, you can enjoy the medicinal bath of Tatzmannsdorf, Austria. Sárvár, about a 40 minute drive from Bozsok, is on the Hungarian side of the border. Here you can enjoy the wonderful thermal waters in many pools and in many ways, all year round.