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Ninety seconds on St James's Park
Some of the pedestrian and vehicle gates open at 5am and close at midnight, every day throughout the year, and entry costs nothing. Other gates keep shorter hours, so the way in late at night may not be the nearest one.
Yes. A Russian ambassador presented pelicans to King Charles II in 1664, and the park has kept them ever since. They are free to roam but stay close to the water, so look on the rocks in the middle of the lake.
The Blue Bridge across the lake gives the best view of Buckingham Palace in one direction. Turn round on the same spot and the London Eye is in view the other way, so a single stop on the bridge covers both landmarks.
St James's Park station, on the Circle line, lies just south of the park. The closest mainline stations are Charing Cross and Victoria, and from either one the walk to the park takes about 15 minutes.
St James's Park covers about 23 hectares (57 acres), and its perimeter runs to roughly 1.3 miles. That makes a full lap of the park a short, flat walk that fits easily between sights in Westminster.
Generally yes. Dogs do not need to be kept on a lead, though the owner must keep them under control. The one exception is the fenced-off grass area around the lake, where the birds feed and rest on the banks.
Stand on the Blue Bridge and you have Buckingham Palace one way and the London Eye the other, with the park's pelicans resting on rocks in the lake below you.
A lake takes up a fifth of St James's Park, and every walk here is a walk around it. The Blue Bridge crosses the middle.
The pelicans rarely stray far from the water and usually rest on their favourite rocks out in the lake. Duck Island Cottage, a seventeenth century house that once belonged to the royal duck keeper, sits by the lakeside.
More than 40 species of water bird use the lake. Tufted ducks fly in from Iceland and northern Europe to join them.
Henry VIII acquired the site as a deer park in 1532. Today three roads frame it, The Mall, Horse Guards Road and Birdcage Walk, and bicycles stay on those roads rather than the park paths.
Starting at the colossal statue of Queen Victoria, right outside Buckingham Palace, follow the lake to the Blue Bridge for the two views.
Cross, then carry on to Duck Island Cottage, scanning the rocks in the water for the pelicans. Take a deckchair on the lawns, hired on site, to make an afternoon of it.
Pair it with Buckingham Palace, whose gates face the statue at the start of the walk.
Come back along the far bank of the lake to the statue to close the loop, under the ornamental cherry trees that flower along the water in spring.
Changing the Guard takes place outside Buckingham Palace on set days each week, so the walk can end at the ceremony.
On a warm evening, stay on about 20 minutes after sunset, when bats come out over the lake.
Keep your food to yourself: feeding the pelicans and ducks does the birds more harm than good.
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