St James's Park Tube Station

St James's Park Station is a Zone 1 tube station located within the City of Westminster just within the border of London's West End. The station runs on the District and Circle lines between Victoria and Westminster stations. The station itself is beneath the London Underground HQ on Broadway (with New Scotland Yard across the road), and, at the eastern end of the station, beneath a shopping arcade which has exits out onto Broadway, Petty France and Palmer Street. Centrally located, St James's station is just a stroll away from many of London's greatest parks and attractions as well as fabulous shopping districts and landmarks.

Directly to the north of the station is the beautiful St James's Park, the oldest of London's Royal Parks with St James's Palace just on the other side. Also on the north side of the park is The Mall, Pall Mall, the swanky district Mayfair, St James's Church (with a great little weekday arts and crafts market), Piccadilly and Piccadilly Circus then followed on by Soho and Oxford Street. And north-east of the park is where all the West End fun begins in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Leicester Square and Covent Garden and Downing Street runs directly off the east side of the park.

If you head east from the station you will discover Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the River Thames, south of the station is Victoria Street where Victoria Station resides at the western end and Westminster Cathedral is at the eastern end, and King's Road, Chelsea and Sloane Square are to the south-west.

Buckingham Palace, Belgravia and Knightsbridge (home of Harrods) are west of the station followed by South Kensington's ´museum-land´ (including the Science, Natural History and V & A Museums) and the Royal Albert Hall which resides alongside Kensington Gardens. And for Green Park, The Ritz Hotel, Hyde Park, Marble Arch and Paddington Station you need to head a little to the north-west.

Most of London's underground and train stations have disabled access via lifts, and when you hear the recorded voice on every train platform advising you to ´mind the gap´, this really is advice that should be taken seriously. It is also a universal fact that busy underground train stations and crowded city areas are a haven for pick-pockets, so just be a little streetwise with your belongings. And as for underground entertainment, there are now over 300 legal buskers singing their hearts out or playing instruments for travellers and commuters throughout the majority of underground stations. Busking within the passageways and in ticket areas became a legalised and sponsored scheme in 2003 and all entertainers have auditioned for the right to perform. However, they are NOT paid by the sponsor or by the London Underground so if you like what you hear, support the cause. They're certainly far more entertaining then the mice and the pigeons that call the LU home (and use the train service), but just as friendly! And grab yourself a tube map; an essential item for travelling on the LU.