Dudergofskaya Elevation and Schlisselburg. Old Ladoga and New Ladoga c

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Dudergofskaya Elevation

   The land around St Petersburg is almost perfectly flat, so any hill gets noticed. The Duderhof Heights, a pair of wooded hills rising south of the city near Krasnoye Selo, are the highest ground for many kilometres around, with the higher one, Voronya Gora or Crow Hill, reaching a little under two hundred metres above sea level. From the top, on a clear day, you can see the gilded domes of the city and the waters of the Gulf of Finland.

   Read the complete Dudergofskaya Elevation write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Dudergofskaya Elevation is where the day begins. Next is The Maritime Channel.

2. 2. The Maritime Channel

   Stand on the shore anywhere near Kronstadt and you are looking at a dredged highway hidden under the water. The Maritime Channel, the Sea Canal of St Petersburg, was cut through the shallow Neva Bay in the late nineteenth century, opening in 1885, so that large ships could reach the city's port directly instead of unloading at Kronstadt. Before it existed, the bay was too shallow for anything but small vessels, and cargo had to be transferred to lighters, a slow and expensive business. The channel runs for around thirty kilometres from the open gulf to the mouth of the Neva, marked by buoys and lights, and it remains the main artery for ships entering the city.

   Read the complete The Maritime Channel write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The Maritime Channel comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. Next is Schlisselburg. Old Ladoga and New Ladoga c, 83 km on.

3. 3. Schlisselburg. Old Ladoga and New Ladoga c

   The fortress at Shlisselburg is built on an island in the river, at the very spot where the Neva leaves Lake Ladoga, and whoever held it held the water road between the Baltic and the heart of Russia. The Novgorodians built the first wooden walls in 1323, and called the place Oreshek, which means little nut, after the island's shape. Over the next four centuries it passed between Russians and Swedes, until in 1702 Peter the Great stormed it on his way to the sea, and renamed it Schlusselburg, the key fortress, a key that would unlock the Baltic. Within a year he had founded Saint Petersburg downstream.

   Read the complete Schlisselburg. Old Ladoga and New Ladoga c write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 178 km into the recorded legs you reach Schlisselburg. Old Ladoga and New Ladoga c. Next is back through The Maritime Channel.

4. 4. back through The Maritime Channel

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The Maritime Channel write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through The Maritime Channel, late in the day. Next is Dudergofskaya Elevation.

5. 5. Dudergofskaya Elevation

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Dudergofskaya Elevation write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Dudergofskaya Elevation. That is the ride.