About St.Jame's Park

St.Jame's Park is located in Central London, and is a sprawling complex that boasts 23 hectares of land. It was named after St.James who was a Leper. Bordering the Park is the Westminster Palace which is now the House of Parliament, St.James Palace to its North, and the reknowned Buckingham Palace to its west. It also is the site of The Mall which is a grand processional route that the Queen takes from Buckingham Palace and in more recent times it is the finish line for the London Marathon, it has been open to public traffic since 1887.

Going back in History St.James Park was initially Marshland that was purchased by Henry the Eight in 1532, it was then drained and turned into a park and included exotic animals such as camels crocodiles, and elephants.

It was then remodeled by Charles II in the French style, and was a noted place for clandestine escapades when it was opened to the public thereafter.

The landscape changed over time but now it boasts a Lake and two islands, Duck and West Island, which is connected by a bridge called the Blue Bridge. Standing on it one can view Buckingham Palace in all its glory as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth offices on the other side, one can also gather spectacular views of Whitehall and the London eye from this vantage point as well as the horse guards. In June every year the traditional Horse guards parade takes place, where the horses have paraded since the 18th century.

You can also feed pelicans everyday between 2.30-3.30pm at the lake. The Lake was remodeled in the late 1820's from the straight canal that Charles II had built to a more romanticized landscape with winding pathways and a more naturally contoured lake.

Location

Tube:
St. James's Park - District,Circle Line
The Park is also easily accessible from Charing Cross Station - Northern, Bakerloo, BR lines
Westminster - Jubilee, District & Circle Lines
Green Park - Piccadilly, Victoria & Jubilee Lines
Victoria - Victoria, Circle & District, BR lines

Bus:
3 Oxford Circus - Crystal Palace
11 Liverpool St - Fulham Broadway
12 Oxford Circus - Dulwich Plough
24 Pimlico - Hampstead Heath
29 Wood Green - Trafalgar Square
53 Trafalgar Square - Plumstead Common
77a Aldwych - Wandsworth
88 Camden Town - Clapham Common
91 Crouch End - Trafalgar Square
148 Shepherd's Bush - Camberwell
159 Marble Arch - Streatham
211 Waterloo - Hammersmith
453 Marylebone - Deptford