A tranquil park in the heart of London. Close to the Mall and Buckingham Palace. Very little changed in seventy years apart from a couple of duck species! The essence of what makes London a great city.

This is a beautiful park to stroll through and its great to see so much wildlife here. There over 40 species of waterbirds here (though you're unlikely to see them all) as well woodpeckers, tawny owls and smaller birds like wrens. And of course there are the squirrels which are a delight to see for tourist like me. The park is centred around a beautiful curving lake. A modest blue bridge crosses the lake about midway along and if you stand on that bridge you can see Whitehall Palace and the London Eye at one end and Buckingham Palace at the other. There is a playground in the park (for younger children) and the main cafe looks out over the lake and has a good selection for breakfast and lunch. I was there in autumn and the trees were filled with colour but I'd love to go back mid-year to see the much lauded spring floral displays. St James Park is close to many of London's landmarks including Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street , Trafalgar Square and Westminster. The Mall, which runs the length of one side of the park, is the main route from Buckingham Palace to Whitehall, and the site of many royal parades and celebrations. When I was in the park recently a large parade preceded Charles II who was off to Westminster to give his first speech to Parliament. There were military bands, mounted guards and horse-drawn carriages - quite a show! This is not a regular event but if you want to experience a little pomp and ceremony, you can watch the ceremony of Changing The King's Life Guard which takes place every weekday at 11:00am on Horse Guards Parade, just opposite the park. If you can only get to one of the four adjoining Royal Parks in central London, this would be my pick.

We caught the Changing of the Guards parade and decided to walk through the park along the lake to the Horse Guards. We say a wide variety of birds, including the pelicans and parrots! It was a nice respite from the constant traffic of Central London.

Stopped after looking at Buckingham Palace. A beautiful park with lots of wildlife. I'm also a Good Omens fan and they filmed in this park, so it didn't hurt finding the spot where they filmed. We stopped on a rainy, cold evening, but I can only imagine how nice it must be on a summer day.

We were in the area and decided to have a walk around here. The place was quite busy more so in certain parts. It is nice to have a walk around, there is squirrels, ducks and other birds here which is good to see. The bridge across the water is nice. There is some benches around the path. Overall this is a nice place to have a walk. It seemed clean with the odd bit of litter about.

We visited on a bright sunny day so it was rather busy. There were still plenty of spaces to explore and there were lots of ducks (some varieties I haven't seen before) and the pink pelicans are very special and they seemed very friendly. If you go over the bridges you get lovely views of the London eye etc so well worth a visit and a stroll.

This is one of the loveliest Royal Parks and is best visited in March/April when the spring flowers are out and the early leaves are bright green. Also walk through in the morning to see the military bands and guards outside Buckingham Palace. There is a large lake and plenty of swamis, geese and ducks. Not much in the way of benches however.

We have spent many an hour sitting in St James’s Park. On many different occasions. There is always something to see no matter what time of the day you go. As the time passes, you can actually see the difference in those walking through the park, the daytime rush starts to slow as those that are out for the evening arrive and pass through. Time allowing don’t forget to take a little duck food with you and relax as you feed the ducks there.

There is something for everyone to do in London. But it's also a big, busy, noisy, and not always clean place. That's where St. James Park comes in. It's right across the street from famous places like Buckingham Palace and a great place to get away from the noise and chaos of the city. The park is a lovely haven with winding paths, pretty ponds full of birds, and beautiful trees. You can plan your visit around the fact that it has many entrances and exits. I really think you should plan to spend a few hours here while you're in London. In the middle of the city, it's a nice change of pace.

Wonderful place to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, with lots of greenery, assorted paths and many benches to rest on under large shady trees. Friendly squirrels and pigeons are everywhere, ducks, geese, swans and even pelicans gather in and around the lake. I recommend visiting the Blue Bridge spanning across the lake. Even on a cloudy drizzly day, the bridge provides a great photo opportunity of the London Eye on one side and the Buckingham Palace on the other. The only negative was endless procession of large groups of school children posing for photos.