On the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, near the village of Lebyazhye, the remains of Fort Krasnaya Gorka sit among pine woods and sand dunes. The fort was built in the years before the First World War as part of a chain of coastal defences protecting the approaches to St Petersburg, with heavy guns facing the sea and their counterparts on the opposite shore at Ino, in what was then the Grand Duchy of Finland. Together, the forts were designed to close the gulf to an enemy fleet.
Krasnaya Gorka is remembered for two episodes. In June 1919, during the Civil War, its garrison mutinied against the Bolsheviks; the uprising was crushed within days, with battleships from Kronstadt shelling the fort. In the Second World War, the fort was part of the Oranienbaum bridgehead, a pocket of territory on the southern shore that held out against the German army throughout the siege of Leningrad, and its guns supported the defence of the city. After the war the fort was gradually abandoned, and today concrete batteries, bunkers and gun emplacements lie overgrown in the forest, with a small museum and memorials nearby.
The landscape is typical of the southern coast: pine forest on sandy ground, dunes and boulders on the shore, and wide views over the gulf. On calm summer days the water is pale and still, and you can see across to the northern shore; in autumn, storms send waves crashing against the boulders.
The riding is calm. The coastal road from Lomonosov to Sosnovy Bor runs through villages and forest with gentle curves and moderate traffic, and the views of the sea come and go between the trees. It is not a road for excitement, but it is pleasant and relaxed, especially in the long evenings of June. Beyond Sosnovy Bor, the road continues west along the coast towards the Estonian border region, with fewer cars and more forest.
Lebyazhye has a few shops, and Sosnovy Bor, a nuclear power station town, has fuel, supermarkets and cafés. The fort itself has no services. As with any trip in Russia at present, check visa requirements, insurance and travel advice carefully, and keep in mind that military sites in this region may have access restrictions.