The princess and the pit pony

An accomplished horsewoman in her own right, it was no surprise that the Princess Royal spent more than her allotted time at the County Durham museum with Pip the 28- year-old pit pony and his handler, Martin Gallagher.

The princess listened with interest as Martin explained how the tough little pony had spent several years toiling underground.

A rare Cleveland Bay stallion named Jason also caught the attention of the princess, who told Beamish horseman Peter Brasset that the Royal family also owned a number of the dwindling breed.

It was the first time the Princess Royal had visited Beamish and she was clearly eager to see as much as possible of the venture.

During her two-hour tour, she popped into the museum's sweet shop before going on to the new Carriage House, which has been funded by grants from The Vaux Foundation and the European Regional Development Fund.

On display in the building were some of the museum's collection of restored horse-drawn vehicles including an 1890s Horse bus, a Holt's Pantechnicon removal van, and a horse-drawn hearse.

Unveiling the plaque to mark the official opening of the Carriage House, the princess said she had been greatly impressed by Beamish and wished it every success in the future.

She then left for the east Durham coastal town of Seaham. As president of the Mission to Seafarers, she had accepted an invitation to open the town's ecumenical Seafarers Centre.

Built for £106,000 by Seaham Dock Company, the centre has a chapel, phone facilities, television, bar, table tennis and pool rooms.

Earlier, she had crowned six years of hard work for a group of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, volunteers when she opened their community resource centre.

Shoppers lined the entrance to the Four Clocks Project, in Newgate Street, where Princess Anne spent more than an hour inspecting the £1.2m conversion from a former Wesley Methodist Church.

She is patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which has moved its Wear Valley branch into the building, and spoke to volunteers and staff before unveiling a plaque.

Earlier nine-year-old Sadie Elliot, daughter of advice worker Carol Wright, presented her with a posy.

The princess visited Bishop Auckland College's Community Caf and Learning Shop, and an exhibition of the project's history.

She spoke with members of the Bishop Auckland Community Partnership, architect John Niven, builder Robert Manners and staff from Age Concern and Children North-East Family Link