St James's and The Mall, London

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The White Cube professes to be the first new building for 40 years to be built in the posh St James area of London! It opened in 2006. It is certainly very striking ...and quite unexpected! In the middle of the Yard amongst the brick buildings is effectively an enormous, modern, white rectangular box! It contains two very large galleries and, I think, offices on the upper floors.

The White Cube Gallery is run by art collector Jay Jopling and generally has exhibitions of art by very well respected British and international artists. There are nowadays a number of White Cube Art Galleries in London, all trying to conform to the archytypal image of the modern white walled, neutral gallery. The other site, in Hoxton, is equally good but not so easy to reach.

Open 10am – 6pm. Closed Mondays.

If the exhibition in Mason's Yard doesn't take your fancy, there are more private art galleries than you can shake a stick at, in the surrounding streets. And of course not forgetting the Royal Academy in nearby Piccadilly.

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St James's Park is located in the heart of London, covering an area around 23 hectares in size. The park is a lovely leafy place, with a pretty lake which is home to plenty of geese and ducks. In the middle of the lake you can see Duck Island and West Island, where the numerous species of waterfowl nest.

The park is bordered by three royal palaces - St James's Palace, Westminster (the Houses of Parliament) and the most famous of all, Buckingham Palace. Running through the park is the Mall, the street where many royal ceremonial parades are held.

There is a very nice café/restaurant in the park called Inn the Park, which is a great place for a snack or full meal. There are also some refreshment stands around the park.

From April to September deck chairs are available during daylight hours so you can relax and watch the squirrels play - but be warned, some of them are a little too friendly!

It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon when I came for a walk in St James Park. It was coming to the end of Sep and yet the weather was a warm 25 dec C. The park covers 23 hectares of land with a lake that attracts ducks & other migrating birds. Buckingham Palace and The Mall are just a short walk away

It costs nothing to enter here, and you can bring your pets provided you pick up after them. It's not nice to have to step into doggie poo. There are some refreshment stalls where you can buy food, drinks & ice cream in the park. You can rent a sun deck or lie on the grass and enjoy the day

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St. James Park is the oldest Royal park and is bordered by three palaces -- Buckingham, St. James and Westminster Palace (the House of Parliament). As you can see on my pictures, even when it is wintertime and not so green, the park is pretty atmospheric, especially around sunset :-)

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I didn't know there was a park in the heart of London directly across from Buckingham Palace! Why don't they ever show that on North American TV? Guess they want us to think that "Central Park" in New York City is the only real urban park in the world.
St James's Park is fantastic! We couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful landscaping, flowers, river, fountain, and the wide variety of birds and animals milling about. There's something very relaxing about stopping for a few seconds from the bustle just to watch some ducks, geese, pelicans, and swans swim around. I was astonished to see that they even had a few of our (demonic birds) Canada Geese. (Must've been given to England as a "gift" by some Canadian politician with a sense of humour.)
The land was originally a marsh. King Henry VIII had it drained in the 15th Century and made into a deer park for his hunting. In the 17th Century, Charles II had it landscaped into a garden by a French landscaper named Andre Le Notre. He also had an aviary built on the site.
There's a cafe in the park and bands give concerts twice a day on weekends during the summer. Pale office workers can be seen laying around and tanning on their lunch breaks. There are occasionally guided tours and special events in the park; check their web site for dates and times.
This is the oldest, prettiest, and most regal of the parks in London; you have to put it on your "must see" list!

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The oldest Royal Park in London and surrounded by 3 palaces (Buck House, St James and Westminster).

It took its name from a leper colony established on marshy land in 14th century. 1532 saw it being 'acquired' as yet another hunting ground by Henry VIII. Royalty dabbled with the layout. opened it for public use etc, but it took the form we are more familiar with in the early part of the 19th century under John Nash.

Birds were introduced in 1837 in significant numbers and this is one of the main attractions of the park (along with its great views)

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Going South at Trafalgar Square you cannot miss the Admiralty Arch. It's a three gates arch and office building adjacent to the Old Admiralty Building.

Designed by Sir Aston Webb it was constucted in 1912 at one end of the Mall.

The building was commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother Queen Victoria.

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On busy Piccadilly, in the heart of the West End, is this lovely church designed by Christopher Wren (he who designed many of the churches in the City of London and of course St Paul’s Cathedral). It has stood here since 1684 and is both an active parish church and a tourist attraction.

The building is considered to be one that most precisely captures Wren’s views on what a parish church should be – large enough to accommodate all who wished to worship there, but not so large that any would be unable to see or hear the preacher. As well as the overall design by Wren, the church has an altar piece, organ case and font carved by renowned wood and stone carver Grinling Gibbons. The steeple is of a slightly later date than the rest of the church, as problems during its construction led to its being removed until the tower could be made safer. The church was partially destroyed in May 1940, by a bomb which was dropped as part of the Blitz, and restored towards the end of that decade.

In 1902 this outside pulpit was erected on the north wall of the church as an offering, designed by Temple Moore and carved by L. A. Turner. It too was damaged in 1940 but restored at the same time as the rest of the north wall.

The grounds are home to the Piccadilly Market – an antiques and collectables market held every Tuesday from 10.00 – 6.00 pm, and an arts and crafts market held Wednesday to Saturday from 11.00 – 6.00 pm. There is also a peaceful garden, developed as a garden of remembrance “to commemorate the courage and fortitude of the people of London” during the Second World War, which provides a lovely spot in which to take a break from the hubbub of the surrounding streets, and a coffee shop (currently a branch of Caffe Nero which has excellent coffee).