Fort Alexander I stands in the water about three kilometres from Kronstadt, a low, oval stone fort built in the nineteenth century as part of the sea defences of St Petersburg. It is better known by another name, the Plague Fort, because at the end of the century the Russian authorities installed a laboratory here to study plague and develop vaccines, working in isolation on a site that could be reached only by boat. The island setting made sense, since a lab handling deadly bacteria needed to be separated from the mainland, and the work done here was part of the early history of research on infectious disease in Russia.
Several of them stand along the line of the sea channel, and their dark outlines on the water at dusk give the Gulf of Finland a melancholy beauty. In winter, when the water freezes, the forts stand in a flat white plain. The route that links this stop to the Zinoviev datcha and the Steinbock-Fermor estate takes you through the wooded north coast, where aristocratic summer houses were built in the nineteenth century.
Riding here is a matter of flat, easy roads through the pine and birch forests of the coast. The surface is generally good, and traffic is moderate except on summer weekends. Since the opening of the flood barrier, the Dam, in the early 2010s, a road connects Kronstadt to the mainland, so that the island, long a closed naval town, is within reach of an ordinary road trip. Wind can be sharp, and the sea mist rolls in without warning.
Fuel is available in Kronstadt, only three kilometres away, and in Lomonosov, nearly ten. Both have cafés and shops. Access to the forts themselves is limited, and the sea is cold and treacherous even in summer, so do not attempt to reach them by boat without a licensed operator. Check local rules for the shore zone, and carry your passport and documents.