Forts are places for people who like their history with a view of the sea, and Kotlin island has more of them than most. Northern Battery No. 2 is part of the chain of defences that guarded the northern channel into the Gulf of Finland, and it dates from the great programme of fortification that Russia undertook in the nineteenth century to protect Kronstadt and, behind it, the capital. The batteries line the island's northern shore, low, squat and half buried in the pines.
Kotlin is a long, thin island, about twelve kilometres from end to end, and it was strategic from the moment Peter the Great took it from Sweden. He built the first fort in 1704, and over the next two centuries the island was ringed with forts, some on artificial islets in the water and others along the shoreline. By the late nineteenth century it was one of the most heavily fortified places in Europe. The ruins and surviving works have a stark, overgrown beauty, with concrete and brick softened by moss and birch scrub.
The island is reached by the road across the Dam, which crosses the gulf in a series of embankments and bridges, with a tunnel under the main shipping channel, and carries the ring road around Saint Petersburg. On the island itself the roads are flat, straight and generally quiet, with views of the water through the trees. Surfaces vary, and winter frost leaves ruts and potholes by spring. Wind can be strong, and in summer the evenings are very long.
Access to some of the forts is limited, and others are in ruinous condition, so look carefully at local information before venturing off the road. Some parts of the island are military zones, and signs should be taken seriously. Use caution around crumbling masonry and never enter unstable structures.
Kronstadt, four kilometres away, is a town of forty-three thousand people, with fuel, shops and cafés. A walk along the harbour at sunset, with ships heading out to the gulf, is the best way to end a day here. Pack a windproof jacket, because the gulf breeze can chill even in July.