Visually there was nothing special about the brown sign directing us off junction 18 of the M1 motorway. It was exactly the same as all the other signs that are dotted around the country.

But two miles on, as we travelled along a remote country road in Northamptonshire, the words Althorp House gave that mundane sign a completely different identity - it marked the resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales; the People's Princess, whose death on August 31, 1997, in a car crash in Paris, sent the nation into mourning.

As soon as Earl Spencer announced his intention to create a museum to celebrate the life of his sister the telephone lines were jammed with callers anxious to get their hands on a £9.50 ticket.

Now, as we approach the anniversary of her death and, on the day she would have been celebrating her 37th birthday, the moving tribute to the Princess opened to the public.

The first visitors to the estate at around 8.30am were greeted by a massive media scrum with journalists from around the world gathered outside the park's rear gates - the same point where thousands of floral tributes were left last August following the news of her death.

The barrage of television, radio and newspaper reporters by far outnumbered the public - it was a media event; a mass of flashing cameras and television satellites lining the road outside the stately home.

Reporters struggled to find anyone to interview and repeatedly found themselves sticking microphones in front of people of the same profession.

It was an intimidating scene for the 100 or so visitors who were the first to enter Althorp Estate when it opened its gates at 9.30am - 30 minutes before the scheduled opening.

Clutching huge bouquets of flowers the public made their way on foot along the -half-mile driveway to the house.

More than 2,500 visitors a day are expected to visit the estate over the next two months, and extra staff - kitted out in quilted jackets and navy trousers - have been drafted in to deal with the public frenzy.

They're dotted around the estate and are on hand to answer any questions.

Their jobs were advertised only in the local paper, a spokesman said "it was something we wanted to keep quiet because had it got out we would have received sackloads of mail".

The tour is centred on the estate's honey-coloured Palladian-style stable block, converted at a cost of £3 million into a museum, and a lakeside walkway near the island where Diana is buried.

To the surprise of many, Earl Spencer stood in the centre of the stable block waiting to greet the opening day's visitors. A queue soon began to form, as people anxiously waited to congratulate his efforts, pass on their condolences and ask questions about his sister.

Once inside the stable block visitors began to walk through the museum exhibition which places Diana in a historical context alongside portraits and memorabilia of famous women in the family including Countess Spencer, Diana's grandmother.

The next room featured aspects of Diana's childhood, notably her neat school uniform, tuck box, school reports, some of her letters and cine film shot by her father.

The centrepiece of the next room was the silk dress and tiara worn at her wedding at St Paul's Cathedral in 1981. Nearby is a Christmas card sent to the Princess by Prince Charles in 1981. It read: "Much love from your tap dancing partner, Charles."

There were comments from visitors about how Charles once obviously loved Diana.

Room four was devoted to the Princess's charitable and humanitarian work. Video films are projected on three screens.

A tribute room provides a reminder of the public's reaction to Diana's death. Here, there was an overwhelming smell of rose petals - scattered over the floor - that hits you as soon as you walk in. This, and the orchestral music, written especially for the museum by Barrington Pheloung - of Inspector Morse fame - is by far the most moving tribute. Several visitors wiped tears from their eyes as they read the displays of the original draft of Earl Spencer's funeral speech.

The final room was the grandest with columns and a vaulted ceiling, partly inspired by Vienna's Lipizzaner riding school. It is the most festive room in the exhibition and includes eye-catching dresses and suits worn by Diana. In a glass case at the end of the room is a collection of 700 books of condolence from around the world - just five per cent of what was actually sent to Althorp.

Following on from the museum visitors began making their way to the lake where Diana is buried on an island in the centre - it looks a lot smaller than television pictures would have you believe.

The atmosphere around the lake as the first visitors arrived was calm and serene with the tranquillity broken only by the buzz of a police helicopter keeping checks on the roads.

It was at this point visitors appeared to get lost in their thoughts; sitting on the numerous benches looking out on to the island - it looked a lonely place.

A gravel path surrounding the lake leads to a Doric temple which is being dedicated to Diana's memory.

The temple contains two plaques either side of a marble etching of the Princess. One plaque contained words from a speech made by Diana in June 1997.

It read: "Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society. It is a goal and an essential part of my life. A kind of destiny. Whoever is in distress can call on me. I will come running wherever they are."

The other plaque containing Earl Spencer's words read: "We give thanks for the life of a woman I am so proud to be able to call my sister.

"The unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana, whose beauty both internal and external will never be gone from our minds."

There was also a blue bench given in memory of Diana by employees of his estate.

Three bouquets were laid in front of the bench. All were marked with cards to the Spencer family.

Several rooms in the Spencer home were also open to the public - they didn't generate a lot of interest. Many claimed they couldn't associate the ancestral history - dating back 500 years - with the Diana they had come to know during her 16 years as a public figure. It certainly didn't feel the sort of place you'd expect to see Diana - the woman described by her brother as a "symbol of selfless humanity, a very British girl who was classless".

Before leaving, visitors once again congregated in the stable block where there is a caf with tables and chairs outside, and a gift shop. We spent just over three hours on the Althorp Estate - the time goes quickly.

It was a genuinely moving experience - brought to a halt, unfortunately, by the media frenzy that met us at the gate when we left.

Althorp Estate is a simple and tasteful tribute to the People's Princess.

The memories of August 31, 1997, came flooding back.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.