St James’s Park
The easternmost segment of the contiguous quartet of parks that runs east from Kensington Gardens, it was laid out by James I in 1603 and Buckingham Palace redeveloped it a century later. Its little pond, St James’s Park Lake, hosts ducks and other waterfowl. The Russian ambassador made a gift of pelicans to the park in 1667; six (three of them a 2013 gift from the city of Prague) still call it home, and are fed their 13kg (28 lb.) of whiting daily at 2:30pm at the Duck Island Cottage. The park has a fine view of Buckingham Palace’s front facade, where royal couples smooch on balconies (but live in a section of the building you can’t see). The real draw is people-watching, since a crosssection of all London passes through here. It’s not a place for picnics or ball throwing, and there’s little in the way of amenities or activities—unless you count voyeurism, and why wouldn’t you?
The easternmost segment of the contiguous quartet of parks that runs east from Kensington Gardens, it was laid out by James I in 1603 and Buckingham Palace redeveloped it a century later. Its little pond, St James’s Park Lake, hosts ducks and other waterfowl. The Russian ambassador made a gift of pelicans to the park in 1667; six (three of them a 2013 gift from the city of Prague) still call it home, and are fed their 13kg (28 lb.) of whiting daily at 2:30pm at the Duck Island Cottage. The park has a fine view of Buckingham Palace’s front facade, where royal couples smooch on balconies (but live in a section of the building you can’t see). The real draw is people-watching, since a crosssection of all London passes through here. It’s not a place for picnics or ball throwing, and there’s little in the way of amenities or activities—unless you count voyeurism, and why wouldn’t you?
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