Princess Royal tours the Postal Museum and Mail Rail at its official opening

Princess Anne has been given a special tour of the Postal Museum and Mail Rail attraction at a ceremonial opening, ahead of the public opening in July. The Princess toured the various galleries, viewed items from the exhibitions and took a ride on the underground Mail Rail, as well as carrying out the ceremonial opening.

Due to open on 28 July 2017, the Postal Museum will reveal remarkable stories about the history of Britain's postal system, as well as offering visitors the chance to ride London's Mail Rail Tunnels.

Celebrating the surprising and quirky history of Britain’s earliest social network, the post, the museum’s galleries lead visitors through five centuries of world-class curiosities and provide a different view on a number of the world’s most significant historical events.

Mail Rail

Once visitors have taken in the museum,their ticket will then grant them access to a subterranean world that – up until now – remained hidden from the general public. Crossing the street, visitors will be able to descend into the old engineering depot of the one hundred year old secret Post Office railway and board a miniature train designed to transport them through its narrow tunnels.

The interactive train ride will pass through and stop at the original Mount Pleasant station platforms, where an impressive audio visual display will take riders back in time, giving an insight into how the railway kept post coursing through London for 22 hours a day.

The Postal Museum, Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DA; tel: 0207 239 2570; website.