Why this ride
286 km from Pushkin to Pushkin, about 5 h 22 of riding. It goes by way of P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha, The Barrier of Pile, Fort «Seraya Loshad» and The Datcha of the Hospital. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin and The Datcha of the Hospital
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 286 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 22
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 34 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 34 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin
The history of the Pushkin district begins with a Swedish manor and a Russian victory, and the story of what grew there is the story of the Russian court itself. The town was long called Tsarskoye Selo, the Tsar's Village, and the great Catherine Palace, with its long blue and white facade and gilded decoration, was the summer residence of the empresses. Inside, the Amber Room, once panelled with amber, was looted during the Second World War and has been recreated in recent decades, to the delight of visitors.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin 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 Pushkin is where the day begins. Next is P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha, 35 km on.
2. P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha
Strelna lies at the beginning of the road to Peterhof, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, and its main feature is the Konstantinovsky Palace, begun in the reign of Peter the Great and named for a later grand duke, Konstantin. Like Peterhof, it was heavily damaged in the Second World War and later rebuilt, and in the early 2000s it was restored for the three-hundredth anniversary of Saint Petersburg. The park, with its canals and ponds, runs down toward the water, and the view across the gulf is wide and grey.
Read the complete P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha comes up 35 km in. Next is The Barrier of Pile.
3. The Barrier of Pile
Izhora is an old name for this part of the coast. Long before Saint Petersburg, the land between the Neva and the Luga belonged to the Izhorians, a small Finnic people who fished, farmed and served as pilots on the river, and whose language survives only in a few villages. Bolshaya Izhora, the Great Izhora, is a modest settlement on the shore, with a church, some dachas and a sea wall, and the nearest town of any size is Kronstadt across the water. The point on the map sits at the edge of the gulf, in reed and low scrub, where the shallows run out for hundreds of metres and the horizon is a thin line of cranes and chimneys.
Read the complete The Barrier of Pile write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
69 km in you reach The Barrier of Pile. Next is Fort «Seraya Loshad».
4. Fort «Seraya Loshad»
Along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg, a low strip of pine forest and sand runs for kilometres between the road and the sea. Fort Seraya Loshad, the Grey Horse, stands in this coastal country, eleven kilometres from the village of Lebyazhye, among a group of forts built for the defence of the capital and the naval base at Kronstadt.
Read the complete Fort «Seraya Loshad» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort «Seraya Loshad», about halfway. Next is The Datcha of the Hospital.
5. The Datcha of the Hospital
Somewhere between Bolshaya Izhora and Lomonosov, along the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, stood a summer house known as the Datcha of the Hospital. The name suggests one of the many country retreats built along this coast in the nineteenth century, when the road west from St Petersburg was lined with the estates of the aristocracy, merchants and institutions. Few of these houses survive intact, and the exact remains of this one are hard to pin down; it is better to take it as a pause on one of the most historic stretches of shore in Russia.
Read the complete The Datcha of the Hospital write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Datcha of the Hospital sits at 138 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort «Seraya Loshad».
6. back through Fort «Seraya Loshad»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort «Seraya Loshad» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» comes up 173 km in. Next is back through The Barrier of Pile.
7. back through The Barrier of Pile
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Barrier of Pile write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
207 km in you reach back through The Barrier of Pile. Next is back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha, 35 km on.
8. back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha, late in the day. Next is Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin.
9. Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 286 km.
Leg by leg
Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin to P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha
Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin → P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha to The Barrier of Pile
P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha → The Barrier of Pile is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Barrier of Pile to Fort «Seraya Loshad»
The Barrier of Pile → Fort «Seraya Loshad» is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Seraya Loshad» to The Datcha of the Hospital
Fort «Seraya Loshad» → The Datcha of the Hospital is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Datcha of the Hospital to back through Fort «Seraya Loshad»
The Datcha of the Hospital → back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» to back through The Barrier of Pile
back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» → back through The Barrier of Pile is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Barrier of Pile to back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha
back through The Barrier of Pile → back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha to Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin
back through P.K.Alexandrov's Datcha → Historical Centre of the Town of Pushkin is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.