Why this ride
A 357 km round trip from Mariyenburg - roughly 6 h 26 in the saddle. On the way it passes Pulkovskaya Observatory, The Water-bringing system of Peterhof, Zelenogorsky and Fort «Seraya Loshad». The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Park «The Menagerie» and Fort «Seraya Loshad»
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 357 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 26
- 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 35 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. Park «The Menagerie»
Gatchina is one of the great imperial estates ringing St Petersburg, and the Menagerie, the Zverinets, is its wild back garden: a large walled tract of forest north of the palace that was laid out in the eighteenth century as a hunting reserve, with deer and other game kept for the court. Today it is mostly woods, ponds and paths, and on a hot day it is the coolest place within reach.
Read the complete Park «The Menagerie» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Park «The Menagerie» is where the day begins. Next is Pulkovskaya Observatory.
2. Pulkovskaya Observatory
On the Pulkovo heights, the low ridge south of St Petersburg, an observatory has been watching the sky since 1839. It was founded by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, the German-born astronomer who became its first director, and it quickly became one of the leading observatories in the world, with the largest refracting telescope of its day. The Pulkovo meridian, running through the observatory's main building, served as the reference for Russian maps for many years. Struve also led the measurement of the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain of survey triangulations stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea, which helped determine the size and shape of the earth and is now a UNESCO site.
Read the complete Pulkovskaya Observatory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pulkovskaya Observatory comes up 37 km in. Next is The Water-bringing system of Peterhof.
3. The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
The fountains of Peterhof run without a single pump, and that is the cleverest thing about them. When Peter the Great planned his gardens in the 1710s and 1720s, engineers led by Vasily Tuvolkov worked out that the water of the Ropsha hills, about twenty kilometres to the south, stood high enough above the Gulf of Finland to feed the fountains by gravity alone. They dug canals, built ponds and laid pipes, so that the water flows from the heights to the Upper Garden and down to the Great Cascade, where it shoots high into the air. The system, still essentially the same, is part of the UNESCO listing for Saint Petersburg.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
74 km in you reach The Water-bringing system of Peterhof. Next is Zelenogorsky.
4. Zelenogorsky
The northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg, was for centuries the summer playground of the capital, and Zelenogorsk, which the Finns called Terijoki, was the best known of its resort towns.
Read the complete Zelenogorsky write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zelenogorsky, about halfway. Next is Fort «Seraya Loshad».
5. 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» sits at 148 km, about halfway. Next is back through Zelenogorsky.
6. Back to Park «The Menagerie»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Park «The Menagerie» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Zelenogorsky comes up 185 km in. Next is back through The Water-bringing system of Peterhof.
7. back through The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
222 km in you reach back through The Water-bringing system of Peterhof. Next is back through Pulkovskaya Observatory.
8. back through Pulkovskaya Observatory
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pulkovskaya Observatory write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory, late in the day. Next is Park «The Menagerie».
9. Park «The Menagerie»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Park «The Menagerie» 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 296 km.
Leg by leg
Park «The Menagerie» to Pulkovskaya Observatory
Park «The Menagerie» → Pulkovskaya Observatory is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pulkovskaya Observatory to The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
Pulkovskaya Observatory → The Water-bringing system of Peterhof is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof to Zelenogorsky
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof → Zelenogorsky is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Zelenogorsky to Fort «Seraya Loshad»
Zelenogorsky → Fort «Seraya Loshad» is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Seraya Loshad» to Back to Park «The Menagerie»
Fort «Seraya Loshad» → Back to Park «The Menagerie» is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Water-bringing system of Peterhof to back through Pulkovskaya Observatory
back through The Water-bringing system of Peterhof → back through Pulkovskaya Observatory is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory to Park «The Menagerie»
back through Pulkovskaya Observatory → Park «The Menagerie» is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.