St James's Park
As the oldest Royal Park in London, St James's Park neighbours the Houses of Parliament, St James's Palace and Buckingham Palace.
Originally acquired by Henry VIII for deer hunting, St James's has had several makeovers in it's lifetime, not least when James I became king, landscaped the Park and used it to keep exotic animals such as camels and crocodiles!
The St James's Park lake runs through the centre with two islands, West Island and the larger Duck Island, which is named for its huge variety of birds. Woodpeckers, owls, ducks and geese live alongside and a few local pelicans, that you can see being fed fish every day usually between 14:30 and 15:00.
Towards the north of the park the 'Inn the Park' restaurant, which has a turfed roof to help it blend in with its surroundings, is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, seven days a week, all year round. If you prefer eating outside in the summer you can choose from a range of takeaway picnics or enjoy a BBQ on the terrace.
Together with Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park and Regent's Park the 58 acres of St James's help form an almost continuous stretch of parkland covering over 700 acres of land, just slightly smaller than New York's Central Park.
