Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
26-July 26 and Sept 26-Oct 31 Mon-Thurs and Sat-Sun 11am-4pm; Aug 1-Sept 25 daily 10am-5pm;
Nov 1-March 25 Mon-Fri 11am-4pm; closed during state visits and last week in Dec. Tube: Victoria.
St. James's Park PARK With its scenic central pond, tended flowerbeds,
and picnic-friendly lawns, it's difficult to believe that this Royal Park was once a
swamp near a leper colony. Today it's as elegant a green space as London can muster,
and one of the best places in the center of town to watch wildfowl. Its pond is home
to more than 20 species, including ducks, geese, and even pelicans—the descendants
of a pair presented to Charles II by a Russian ambassador in 1662—which are all fed
daily at 2:30pm.
Great as the park is for just lazing about, if you want to get a bit more active, the park
office offers guided walks throughout the year—including to Duck Island in the center
of the pond, on the hunt for the park's bats, and following the course of the River Tyburn,
which flows beneath the park. See the website for times and frequencies.
The Mall, SW1. &   020/7930-1793. www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/st_james_park. Free admission.
Open 24 hr. Tube: St. James's Park.
St. James's Piccadilly CHURCH This late 17th-century Anglican church
doesn't so much provide a respite from the bustle and commerce of Piccadilly, as form
a vibrant part of it. A market is held in the churchyard every day except Monday (it's
antiques on Tues and general arts and crafts from Wed to Sun) and classical concerts
are put on at lunchtime on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. They're nominally
free, although a donation of £3.50 is requested.
The church formed part of the post-Great Fire London skyline created by Sir
Christopher Wren. But unlike almost all his other commissions, this was a new
church, not a rebuild, first consecrated in 1684. Diarist John Evelyn wrote of the
interior, “There is no altar anywhere in England, nor has there been any abroad,
more handsomely adorned.” Wren's master carver Grinling Gibbons created the
reredos (a screen decorated with religious icons and placed behind the altar), organ
case, and font.
197 Piccadilly, W1. &   020/7734-4511. www.st-james-piccadilly.org. Free admission. Lunchtime con-
certs are held on Mon, Wed, and Fri at 1:10pm. Suggested donation £3.50. Evening concerts are on an
irregular schedule; check at the church for a poster listing the current slate of evening concerts. Tickets
cost £10-£22. Tube: Piccadilly Circus.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields CHURCH Although its setting at the edge of one of
London's busiest squares makes the church's name seem almost willfully ironic, St.
Martin's was indeed surrounded by fields when first founded in the 13th century. But
these had already long gone by the time the current grand 18th-century building was
constructed, the work of James Gibbs, a disciple of Christopher Wren. Today, follow-
ing a £36 million makeover, it looks as good as ever, with an interior adorned with fine
Italian plasterwork. A full program of classical concerts (plus the odd bit of jazz) is
laid on here. Those performed at lunchtime, typically on Mondays, Tuesdays, and
Fridays are free (although a £3.50 donation is “suggested”), while evening tickets cost
£7 to £26. A craft market is held during the week at the back of the church.
Inside, the excellent Café in the Crypt enjoys one of the most atmospheric loca-
tions in London, its floor made up numerous gravestones (including the highwayman
Jack Sheppard and Nell Gwynne, Charles II's mistress). The crypt is also home to the
London Brass Rubbing Centre , where children can rub a wide selection of
replica brasses (from £4.50), open Monday to Wednesday 10am to 7pm, Thursday to
Saturday 10am to 10pm, and Sunday noon to 7pm.
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