Why this ride
81 km from Kronstadt to Kronstadt, about 1 h 15 of riding. It goes by way of The Maximov's Datcha, Oranienbaumsky Springboard and back through The Maximov's Datcha.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Northern battery No. 2 and Oranienbaumsky Springboard
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 81 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 15
- 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 21 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Northern battery No. 2
Forts are places for people who like their history with a view of the sea, and Kotlin island has more of them than most. Northern Battery No. 2 is part of the chain of defences that guarded the northern channel into the Gulf of Finland, and it dates from the great programme of fortification that Russia undertook in the nineteenth century to protect Kronstadt and, behind it, the capital. The batteries line the island's northern shore, low, squat and half buried in the pines.
Read the complete Northern battery No. 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Northern battery No. 2 is where the day begins. Next is The Maximov's Datcha.
2. The Maximov's Datcha
The south shore of the Gulf of Finland west of St Petersburg is a strip of dachas, palaces and old military ground, and the place marked here as Maximov's Datcha sits within it, a couple of kilometres from the town of Lomonosov.
Read the complete The Maximov's Datcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Maximov's Datcha comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Oranienbaumsky Springboard.
3. Oranienbaumsky Springboard
The Oranienbaum Springboard is not a single building but a piece of ground, and once you know the story the low woods and fields south of the Gulf of Finland look entirely different. In September 1941, as German and Finnish forces closed the ring around Leningrad, a pocket of coast around Oranienbaum, today's Lomonosov, held out. It was cut off from the city by land, supplied across the water and under the guns of Kronstadt, and it never fell. In January 1944 the Second Shock Army broke out of this pocket as one jaw of the offensive that finally lifted the siege.
Read the complete Oranienbaumsky Springboard write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Oranienbaumsky Springboard. Next is back through The Maximov's Datcha.
4. back through The Maximov's Datcha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Maximov'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 The Maximov's Datcha, late in the day. Next is Northern battery No. 2, 17 km on.
5. Northern battery No. 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Northern battery No. 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Northern battery No. 2. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Northern battery No. 2 to The Maximov's Datcha
Northern battery No. 2 → The Maximov's Datcha is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Maximov's Datcha to Oranienbaumsky Springboard
The Maximov's Datcha → Oranienbaumsky Springboard is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Oranienbaumsky Springboard to back through The Maximov's Datcha
Oranienbaumsky Springboard → back through The Maximov's Datcha is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Maximov's Datcha to Northern battery No. 2
back through The Maximov's Datcha → Northern battery No. 2 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.