Antony

Antony is a village and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, about 2 miles from Torpoint. Plymouth is 9 miles away by road via the Torpoint Ferry. The ferry is a toll service, payable one way on the trip from Torpoint to Plymouth (motorcycles pay on the Plymouth to Torpoint crossing instead).

The village is best known for Antony House, a National Trust property built in the 1720s and owned by the Carew family since the 15th century. The family still lives there. The Trust describes it as one of the finest surviving Queen Anne buildings in the West Country, with portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds and a painting of Charles I during his trial among its collection. The house was used as a filming location for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (2010).

The Repton-designed landscape garden looks over the River Lynher, and includes a formal garden with topiary, modern sculptures and a historic collection of daylilies. A Colonnade Café serves light lunches and cakes, and well-behaved dogs on short leads are allowed on the garden’s gravel and stone paths. Opening is seasonal and the house opens on set days, so check the National Trust website before you travel. The beaches of Whitsand Bay are a few miles to the south-west.