St. James Park - London

This photo of the view from St. James Park in London is part of one of the panoramic images found on the PanoramicEarth.com Tour of London. There are over 100 images taken from around London linked to an interactive map.

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St. James Park is one of the Royal Parks in London and forms a triangle. At one end is Buckingham Palace and the park is bordered by The Mall, Horse Guards Parade (which passes Downing Street) and then Birdcage Walk. St. James Park is one of the smaller Royal Parks, covering only about 95 acres of land

A lake runs almost the full length down the centre. The lake is populated by a variety of fowl, including the geese you see here feeding off the grass. There are two islands in the lake (Duck Island and West Island, and a large fountain close to Duck Island at the eastern end. There is a lovely bridge which spans the lake in the middle linking the two sides of the park and offering great views back towards Westminster.

St James Park is mostly grassland with trees, although there are some flower plantings, especially towards the east end of the park, near to Horse Guards Parade. The Mall, which runs down one edge, links Buckingham Palace with Trafalgar Square, passing through Admiralty Arch. This road is closed to traffic on Sundays, bringing calm to the whole area and allowing this part of London space to breathe. Within the park is also a bandstand, and often live music, and a restaurant, close to where this picture was taken.

In the summer the park is generally full of people taking advantage of a space to relax and catch a bit of the sun. The eastern skyline is now dominated by the London Eye, whose pods rise above the top of Whitehall.

Like most of the Royal Parks, St. James Park owes it’s history to Henry VIII who brought the land for hunting. The area was marshy and often flooded by the Tyburn. Over the next 200 years various changes were made to the park, and the final shape that we have today settled into place. John Nash was one of the planners who worked on the layout of St. James Park.

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The nearest tube stations include St. James Park, Westminster and Charring Cross. Green Park Tube is also close by.

The full panoramic image taken from the junction of St. James Park can be found on the London tour by PanoramicEarth.com. An enlargement of this photo can be found on Flickr. You can also find a marker for resturant in St. James Park on Tagzania.

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