Countess Yulia Samoilova is the sort of figure that the nineteenth century produced in numbers: rich, independent, beautiful, fond of artists and impatient with convention. She was a society woman who spent much of her life abroad, especially in Italy, and who is remembered in Russian painting as the muse of a famous artist. A villa on the southern edge of Saint Petersburg's estates bears her name, and it sits in the quiet country between Pavlovsk and Gatchina, in a landscape of old parks, small rivers and pine woods.
The label here also names the Prioratsky Park, which lies at Gatchina, a town with its own imperial history. The park is named for the Priory Palace, a curious building of local clay brick and stone that Emperor Paul I had made for the Knights of Malta, whose Grand Master he had become. The palace stands beside a lake in a wooded landscape, and it is one of those places where the mixture of ambition and eccentricity of the late eighteenth century is easy to feel.
Everything about this area suggests a world of country houses. The estates around Pavlovsk and Gatchina were places where the court escaped the formalities of the capital, and the buildings, parks and ponds that survive give a sense of the leisurely round of picnics, concerts and boat trips. Much was destroyed in the Second World War, and restoration has been a long job, with some buildings lovely and others still waiting.
Roads in this part of the Leningrad region run through flat farmland and forest, with long straights and occasional tight bends where a river is crossed. Surfaces can be rough after winter, with frost damage and patches. Traffic on the main roads to Pavlovsk and Gatchina is heavy during the day, so look for quieter lanes through the villages. The best time for riding is early morning in summer or on a clear autumn afternoon, when the birches turn gold.
Pavlovsk, four kilometres away, has pumps, cafés and shops, and there is a good choice of places to eat in Gatchina. Bring a rain jacket, since showers are frequent, and insect repellent if you plan to walk in the woods in summer.