Why this ride
283 km from Petrodvorets to Petrodvorets, about 4 h 36 of riding. It goes by way of Volkhonskoe Highway, Prioratsky Park, The Blocade Ring and back through Prioratsky Park. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof and The Blocade Ring
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 283 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 36
- 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
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Peter the Great wanted a palace by the sea that would rival Versailles, and he chose this stretch of the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about thirty kilometres west of Saint Petersburg. What became Peterhof is a town built around an imperial residence: the Grand Palace on a terrace above the sea, the Grand Cascade of gilded statues and fountains falling toward a canal that runs straight to the water, and parks full of pavilions, including Peter's own small Dutch style house, Monplaisir, right on the shore. The fountains run on gravity, fed by springs on the higher ground inland, a feat of eighteenth century engineering.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is where the day begins. Next is Volkhonskoe Highway.
2. Volkhonskoe Highway
The Volkhonskoe Highway is not a scenic mountain road but a historic route on the southern edge of Saint Petersburg, running out from the city towards Gorelovo and the old road to Krasnoye Selo. It belongs to the network of eighteenth and nineteenth century highways that linked the capital with the imperial residences and military camps to the south and west, and it is included in the wider protected area of the historic centre of Saint Petersburg and its related monuments. What you see today is a mix of suburban growth, open fields and stretches of tree-lined road, with the ghosts of history underneath.
Read the complete Volkhonskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Volkhonskoe Highway comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Prioratsky Park.
3. Prioratsky Park
Gatchina has a palace that most visitors head for first, but the building that makes riders and architects alike stop and stare is the little Priory Palace standing on the shore of Black Lake in Prioratsky Park. It looks like a small Gothic castle with a tower and a chapel, pale and slightly unreal against the water, and it is built of rammed earth. Nikolai Lvov, the architect and polymath, put it up around 1799 for Emperor Paul I, who had made himself Grand Master of the Knights of Malta and wanted a residence to offer the Order. The earth walls, compacted in layers and then plastered, have now survived more than two centuries of Russian winters, which is a better record than plenty of brick.
Read the complete Prioratsky Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Prioratsky Park. Next is The Blocade Ring.
4. The Blocade Ring
The Blockade Ring stands on the south bank of the Neva, east of Saint Petersburg, close to where the Road of Life began its journey toward Lake Ladoga. It commemorates the siege of Leningrad, which lasted from September 1941 to January 1944, roughly 872 days, and the corridor that kept the city alive. When Shlisselburg fell in September 1941, the city was cut off by land, and the only lifeline ran across Ladoga, by boat in summer and over the ice in winter.
Read the complete The Blocade Ring write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Blocade Ring, about halfway. Next is back through Prioratsky Park.
5. back through Prioratsky Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Prioratsky Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Prioratsky Park sits at 181 km, about halfway. Next is back through Volkhonskoe Highway.
6. back through Volkhonskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Volkhonskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Volkhonskoe Highway comes up about 253 km into the recorded legs. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof.
7. Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof closes the day.
Leg by leg
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof to Volkhonskoe Highway
Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof → Volkhonskoe Highway is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Volkhonskoe Highway to Prioratsky Park
Volkhonskoe Highway → Prioratsky Park is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Prioratsky Park to The Blocade Ring
Prioratsky Park → The Blocade Ring is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The Blocade Ring to back through Prioratsky Park
The Blocade Ring → back through Prioratsky Park is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Prioratsky Park to back through Volkhonskoe Highway
back through Prioratsky Park → back through Volkhonskoe Highway is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Volkhonskoe Highway to Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof
back through Volkhonskoe Highway → Historical Centre of the Town of Peterhof is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.