St James's Park
St Jame's Park is the oldest royal park in London, located in a privileged place as is the Westminster area, very close to Buckingham Palace and other buildings of great importance.
The park was created throughout the year 1532, when Enrique VIII acquired the 23 hectares that are part of the park at present. Charles II hired the Frenchman André Mollet to give the park a French style, including a small lake. Over time it has undergone a series of changes, such as the transformation of avenues into much wider walks, the construction of the Marble Arch at the entrance and the extension of Buckingham House, which is what we know today as the Buckingham Palace.
What to see in St Jame's Park
One of the aspects that most attracts its visitors is the possibility of contemplating the beautiful Buckingham Palace from the bridge that crosses the lake of St Jame's Park, since from it you can see the Change of Guardi that takes place all the days at 11:30 in the morning from May to July and every other day during the rest of the months of the year. The fact of witnessing how the park environment changes during the changes of the Royal Guard can be a bit overwhelming and perhaps we prefer to leave this event for another time.
The park is surrounded by a small part of the most important architectural works of the city of London and the whole United Kingdom, such as Buckingham Palace and Victoria sculpture to the west, St. James Palace and The Mall to the north, Horse Guards to the east and Bridcage Walk to the south.
Although originally the park was a completely swampy area, inside we can enjoy an artificial lake with two islands full of birds that have found in St Jame's Park an idyllic place to live. All this, added to the incredible beauty and variety of its vegetation, will make us forget that we are in the center of London. For that reason, it is one of the parks that you can not leave without visiting.
The two islands of Lake St Jame's Park are called Duck Island and West Island. By the name of the first of them it is not difficult to imagine that throughout our journey we will find more than one duck. Bearing in mind that four centuries ago we would find ourselves from crocodiles to elephants... there is no doubt that the change is better, especially if we are looking for a walk or a rest.
The park is full of maps and posters to know where we are, where the public toilets are and where we can consume drinks or food inside the park.
There is no doubt that during our visit to London we can not miss the opportunity to enjoy everything that St Jame's Park has to offer, the ideal place to relax and rest surrounded by a natural and peaceful environment.
