Why this ride
A 183 km round trip from Kronstadt - roughly 3 h 43 in the saddle. On the way it passes The Park «Alexandria», Krasnoe Selo, Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk and back through Krasnoe Selo. An island ride, so the sea is never far.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Forts of the Island Kotlin and Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 43
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
For about 36 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Krasnoe Selo → Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk
25 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Forts of the Island Kotlin
Kotlin island carries so many forts that the usual way to describe it is as a single stone ship moored in the middle of the gulf. The whole island is fortified, and you can see the evidence from the water, from the road and from the air: low batteries, round towers, harbour walls and the great forts built on artificial islands in the shallows. Many carry the names of tsars and grand dukes, and some, like the fort known as Alexander I, have a more sinister reputation, since it was used as a research station for plague bacteria in the early twentieth century and is still called the Plague Fort.
Read the complete Forts of the Island Kotlin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Forts of the Island Kotlin is where the day begins. Next is The Park «Alexandria».
2. The Park «Alexandria»
Alexandria Park is one part of the great Peterhof estate that most visitors skip, which is a good reason to visit it. Peterhof is known for its Grand Cascade and golden statues, the fountains that Peter the Great designed to rival Versailles, and for the crowds that pack the Lower Park in summer. Alexandria, on the other side of the road, is quieter, with winding paths, ponds, old oaks and a collection of small romantic buildings set among the trees.
Read the complete The Park «Alexandria» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Park «Alexandria» comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Krasnoe Selo.
3. Krasnoe Selo
Readers of Anna Karenina will know Krasnoye Selo, even if they have never been within a thousand kilometres of it. It was here, at the summer camp of the imperial guards, that Tolstoy set the officers' steeplechase in which Vronsky rides his mare Frou-Frou to disaster in front of the court. For more than a century, from the early nineteenth century until the revolution, the guards regiments of the Russian army gathered each summer in this area south-west of Saint Petersburg for manoeuvres, parades and horse races, and the tsar and the court came to watch. It is listed as one of the monuments associated with the historic centre of Saint Petersburg.
Read the complete Krasnoe Selo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach Krasnoe Selo. Next is Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk.
4. Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk
Pavlovsk station has a story that every Russian railway enthusiast can tell. The line from Saint Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo opened in the late 1830s, the first public railway in the country, and it was soon extended to Pavlovsk, where a grand station building became a place of concerts and summer entertainment. Johann Strauss the younger came to conduct there in the nineteenth century, and the rich of the capital rode out in their finery to hear him. The railway still runs, though the trains are electric and the concert hall has long gone quiet.
Read the complete Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk, about halfway. Next is back through Krasnoe Selo.
5. back through Krasnoe Selo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Krasnoe Selo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Krasnoe Selo sits at 100 km, about halfway. Next is back through The Park «Alexandria».
6. back through The Park «Alexandria»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Park «Alexandria» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Park «Alexandria» comes up about 150 km into the recorded legs. Next is Forts of the Island Kotlin.
7. Forts of the Island Kotlin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Forts of the Island Kotlin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Forts of the Island Kotlin closes the day.
Leg by leg
Forts of the Island Kotlin to The Park «Alexandria»
Forts of the Island Kotlin → The Park «Alexandria» is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Park «Alexandria» to Krasnoe Selo
The Park «Alexandria» → Krasnoe Selo is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Krasnoe Selo to Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk
Krasnoe Selo → Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk to back through Krasnoe Selo
Railway Saint Petersburg - Pavlovsk → back through Krasnoe Selo is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Krasnoe Selo to back through The Park «Alexandria»
back through Krasnoe Selo → back through The Park «Alexandria» is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Park «Alexandria» to Forts of the Island Kotlin
back through The Park «Alexandria» → Forts of the Island Kotlin is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.