Antony House and Garden - National Trust

22/06/2026

🌿 THIS WEEK AT ANTONY 🌿

This week Antony is open on Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25th and Sunday 28 June, 12pm-5pm (car park opens at 11:45am).

Antony's stunning house, gardens, café and bookshop will all be ready for you to amble the afternoons away.

Don't miss out - Tuesday 23 June is the last chance to enter Antony's secret garden and discover a stunning collection of over 600 varieties of Hemerocallis (also known as daylilies) until next summer!

Did you catch gardener Emily on ITV talking about the collection? If not you can see the full report here: https://tinyurl.com/4cuuz5x2

📸 Emma W

[Image description: daylilies in bloom in a walled garden at Antony.]

20/06/2026

We've been lying to you (about the names of our places in the Tamar Valley)

Just a bit of Saturday silliness... can you think of any other good additions?

📸 ©National Trust Images/Mel Peters/James Beck/Andrew Butler/Harry/Barry

[Image description: images of Antony, Buckland Abbey, Cadsonbury and Cotehele with jokey captions overlaid. Alt text is available for each image.]

15/06/2026

💐 THIS WEEK AT ANTONY 💐

Don't miss out on blooms, beauty and new adventures at Antony this week! Antony is open Tuesday 16th, Wednesday 17th, Thursday 18th and Sunday 21st June, 12pm-5pm .

🌺 DISCOVER DAYLILIES | Until 23rd June
The daylily garden, filled with our National Collection of over 600 varieties of Hemerocallis, is open for just two weeks every year. Don't miss them!

✏ SENSORY TRAIL | Until 19th July
'Second Nature: A Summer Sensory Spotter Trail' has begun! Discover sights, sounds, textures, and scents as you wander, noticing how nature changes in the sunshine and shade. Pick up your trail sheet from our friendly Welcome team to get stuck in.

Antony's spectacular house, cosy café and brim-full bookshop are also open, so you can make a day of it!

Will you head to Antony for an adventure this week?

📸 ©National Trust Images/James Dobson/Clare D

[Image description: 1) Antony House with long grass growing in summer 2) a yellow and red Hemerocallis (daylily) flower with dew on its petals 3) a child in a sun at enjoys an outdoor family trail 4) white roses bloom at Antony.]

14/06/2026

You may have heard of our daylily collection, but how did it come to Antony? 🌺

Well, the reason there is such an incredible collection here is because of the passion of one woman; the late Lady Cynthia Carew Pole.

Lady Cynthia adored 'daylilies' and through the 1960s and 1970s to her death in 1977, she collected over 600 varieties which were planted in the walled garden at Antony and later alphabetised, allowing future gardeners to keep track of them all.

She also established a plant nursery, and carefully-tended Hemerocallis specimens were shared with other collectors across the world. She meticulously recorded each variety and her thoughts on them, which were often poetic. She described one variety with 'the flowers glow with an iridescent light.'

Lady Cynthia's collection of Hemerocallis were offered as a National Collection which was accepted in 1985, its significance now fully recognised.

The Daylily Garden's gates are open each year for just two short weeks. This year it will be open until Tuesday 23 June for visitors to enjoy the spectacle of vibrant colour.

🔗 Plan your trip to Antony and the daylilies by visiting our website: https://tinyurl.com/bp5stdax

📸 Emma W

[Image description: four images of Hemerocallis (daylilies) in the walled garden at Antony, the first are golden yellow, the second orange, the third red and the fourth yellow with pinkish tips.]

12/06/2026

Because Antony will always be the home of Alice to us 📖

We recently had some incredible second-hand book donations for Antony's bookshop and just look what we found - a 1950s edition of 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll. We couldn't resist taking a closer look: Antony was featured in the 2010 film 'Alice in Wonderland' directed by Tim Burton.

Inside is a very touching inscription which we wanted to share:

'My darling Elaine, my pride & my joy,
It makes me so happy to give you a toy,
I went into town, to have a look round,
But instead of a toy, a book I have found.

Your loving Nana
12.2.57'

This beautiful book has come to the right place. Every book sold, every piece of cake munched and cup of coffee slurped at Antony helps us to look after this very special place.

Have you discovered our second-hand bookshop yet? You'll find it next to the Colonnade Café but be warned - you may walk away with a bargain (or four...)

[Image description: 1) the book described above open on its handwritten inscription 2) books on display in the second-hand bookshop, a sign reads 'All proceeds go directly to the conservation of Antony.']

10/06/2026

We like to welcome everyone to National Trust places, but these pests are an exception! 🐜

Collections & House Officer Clare has recently found evidence of these little visitors to Antony's house - carpet beetles that have been found on windowsills.

The beetles themselves aren't such a problem though, it's their larvae that can damage our collections as they eat their way through natural materials like wool, feathers, fur and historic textiles.

Carpet beetles are best controlled through thorough cleaning and reducing the materials their larvae feed on. Clare's top tips to reducing carpet beetles are:

🐜 Vacuum carpets, skirting boards, upholstery, and corners regularly, especially in quiet or less-used rooms
🐜 Inspect precious carpets and rugs regularly (with a magnifying glass if you can!)
🐜 Keep an eye on windowsills for evidence of beetles

Never fear for Antony's house though, Clare and the team are on the case! Have you ever had to deal with these critters, do you have any tips to share?

📸 Clare D

[Image description: an image of two dead carpet beetles, which are black and brown, on a white windowsill.]

08/06/2026

🌺 Starting tomorrow! 🌺

We're opening the gate to the daylily garden for just two weeks to witness the glory of Antony's colourful collection of daylilies (Hemerocallis).

Join us on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays between 9 and 23 June, 12pm-5pm to witness this stunning display of flowers!

The National Trust is opening the gates to a secret garden that houses a national collection of rare flowers.

Read the full article in the comments. ⬇️

08/06/2026

🌺 THIS WEEK AT ANTONY 🌺

The daylilies are here! Antony's incredible collection of over 600 varieties of daylily (Hemerocallis) opens on Tuesday 9 June and will be open until 23 June.

Antony will be open on Tuesday 9, Wednesday 10, Thursday 11 and Sunday 14 this week, 12pm-5pm (car park opens at 11:45am). Join us to discover daylilies, explore the rest of the blooming gardens and take in the striking house.

Top tip: if you prefer a quieter visit, we recommend the peace of our second hand bookshop, found in the museum room next to the Colonnade Café. All proceeds go towards helping us care for Antony.

📸 Clare D, Emma W

[Image description: 1) vibrant red daylily with a long stamen covered in pollen 2) a view of Antony's house through the leaves of the black walnut tree 3) white roses in a border 4) a close up of books in the second hand bookshop with a sign in the centre that reads 'All proceeds go directly to the conservation of Antony.']

07/06/2026

It's officially the end of Volunteers Week 2026! We hope our wonderful Tamar Valley volunteers feel valued and treasured all year round, because we couldn't care for our places without them.

Want a new hobby that makes a difference? We have new great new volunteering opportunities at Antony, Buckland Abbey and Cotehele for your consideration.

🌳 ANTONY (PL11 2QA) | ROOM GUIDE | SUNDAYS

Join us as a House Experience Volunteer (or 'room guide') on Sundays between March and October. There's so much to bring to life in Antony's magnificent house near Torpoint, Cornwall.

⛪ BUCKLAND ABBEY (PL20 6EY) | ROOM GUIDE | VARIOUS DAYS

Try out room guiding for size at Buckland Abbey. This unique house, monastic church turned Tudor country seat, is full of stories to tell our visitors. This vacancy is open on multiple days of the week near Yelverton, Devon.

🍏 COTEHELE (PL12 6TA) | SHUTTLE BUS DRIVER | BOOKSHOP | ROOM GUIDE

Are you proud of your driving skills? You might be just the person we need to help make Cotehele more accessible by driving our shuttle bus across the site. This vacancy is available on multiple days of the week.

Or perhaps you're a book lover! Our bookshop volunteers look after our second hand bookshop near the house at Cotehele and generate thousands of pounds for our essential conservation work through their role. This vacancy is for a shift on a Tuesday.

We're also on the look out for room guides who can welcome visitors to captivating Cotehele's house, a vacancy that is available on various days at Cotehele, near Saltash.

🔗 Head to this link and search for our places to find the role you're drawn to: https://tinyurl.com/mu9f2zfa

📸 ©National Trust Images/Cristian Barnett/James Dobson/Emma Whitworth

[Image description: a collage of shots from Antony's house, Buckland Abbey's collection and Cotehele's bookshop with text highlighting the places and roles available.]