Veliky Novgorod calls itself Russia's oldest city, with a chronicle date of 859, and for several centuries it was one of the most important cities in the country. It sits on the Volkhov river just north of Lake Ilmen, on the trade route between the Baltic and Byzantium, and in the Middle Ages it governed a huge territory in the north. Unusually for medieval Russia, power here lay not with a prince but with the veche, a city assembly, which elected officials and invited princes to serve as military leaders.
The old centre is a World Heritage site. The Kremlin, a brick fortress with a ring of walls and towers, stands on the left bank, and inside it rises the Cathedral of St Sophia, built in the eleventh century and one of the oldest stone buildings in Russia, with its helmet-shaped domes. Across the river, the market side holds Yaroslav's Court and a scatter of old churches. Archaeologists have found hundreds of birch-bark letters here, preserved in the damp soil, shopping lists, love notes and complaints written by ordinary people eight hundred years ago, and the museum has a good collection.
The city was nearly destroyed in the Second World War, and its churches were rebuilt carefully from ruins. A large monument in the Kremlin celebrates a thousand years of Russia, unveiled in 1862, with sculptures of historical figures around it. Walks along the river bank at dusk, with the Kremlin walls lit and the water quiet, are the best way to see the place.
The road from Valdai, the old tsarist route between Moscow and St Petersburg, is a pleasure, running through gentle forest and farmland, with the pace set by trucks and local cars. The surface varies, with some very good stretches and some old, patched ones, and speed cameras are common. The region has wide skies, low hills and large lakes, with the best riding in late spring and early autumn. Winter closes in with deep snow and ice.
Veliky Novgorod is a city of over two hundred thousand, so fuel, food and repairs are easy, with stations on all main roads. Pankovka and Volkhovsky are nearby suburbs with a few services. Local cuisine includes mushroom soups, fish from the lake and pies, and honey drinks have a long tradition here.
Allow time to wander on foot. The city is compact and rewards slow exploring, with a church around every corner.