Chauffeur Service in St James's

Between Piccadilly and the Mall sits St James's, with St James's Street running straight down its middle and Pall Mall crossing at the bottom of it. No district anywhere in London is more formal: private members' clubs along Pall Mall and St James's Street, shirtmakers and perfumers on Jermyn Street, galleries on Bury Street and Duke Street, and the auction rooms of King Street. People we drive here put discretion above nearly everything else, and an arrival is expected to pass entirely unnoticed.

One way northbound towards Piccadilly, St James's Street dictates every approach to the clubs standing along it, while Pall Mall runs one way eastbound for most of its length. On Sundays and during ceremonial events the Mall shuts to traffic, and restrictions apply on Marlborough Road and Cleveland Row. King Street, Bury Street and the St James's Square side give the practical set-downs. All of it lies inside the congestion charge zone, and we handle the charge without a word about it.

Whatever brings a car here tends to be unhurried. Lunch at a club that drifts into the afternoon; a private view at a gallery; an auction where the lot you actually want comes up at some unguessable hour; a fitting on Jermyn Street. Not one of them has a fixed finish, and not one is improved by standing on Pall Mall in the rain waiting for a taxi. Booking by the hour fits naturally, with the car held on Bury Street or St James's Square.

Journeys onward tend to run south and west. Heathrow generally comes to 45 to 80 minutes by the Mall and the A4, or by Hyde Park Corner whenever the Mall is shut. Gatwick takes 55 to 95 minutes over Vauxhall Bridge. Windsor and Ascot want 60 to 90 minutes on an ordinary day, and a great deal more once a race meeting is on. London City is normally 35 to 60 minutes east along the Embankment, missing the West End entirely.