Why this ride
From Sosnovaya Polyana it runs 227 km to Sosnovaya Polyana; allow about 4 h 10 of riding. It goes by way of The English Park, The Maritime Channel, Terioki and back through The Maritime Channel. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tallinskoe Highway and Terioki
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 227 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 10
- 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 25 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 25 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tallinskoe Highway
Not every historic road is a pretty one, and the Tallinn highway on the south-western edge of St Petersburg is not trying to win prizes for charm. It is, however, one of the old imperial routes out of the capital, the road toward Narva and Reval, today's Tallinn, and as such it forms part of the UNESCO listing of the historic centre of St Petersburg and its related monuments, which includes the network of roads tying the city to its palaces and estates. Along it, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries planted suburban residences, military camps and post stations.
Read the complete Tallinskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tallinskoe Highway is where the day begins. Next is The English Park.
2. The English Park
Everybody who comes to Peterhof heads for the fountains, the Grand Cascade and the gilded Samson tearing open the lion's jaws, and almost nobody walks the few hundred metres west into the English Park. That is their loss. Catherine the Great, who found Peter the Great's straight avenues and clipped hedges old-fashioned, had this park laid out from 1779 by the English gardener James Meader, in the natural landscape style then sweeping Europe: a chain of ponds, meadows, clumps of oak and lime, and paths that wander rather than march. It belongs to the World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Saint Petersburg and its ring of palaces and estates.
Read the complete The English Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The English Park comes up 26 km in. Next is The Maritime Channel.
3. The Maritime Channel
Stand on the shore anywhere near Kronstadt and you are looking at a dredged highway hidden under the water. The Maritime Channel, the Sea Canal of St Petersburg, was cut through the shallow Neva Bay in the late nineteenth century, opening in 1885, so that large ships could reach the city's port directly instead of unloading at Kronstadt. Before it existed, the bay was too shallow for anything but small vessels, and cargo had to be transferred to lighters, a slow and expensive business. The channel runs for around thirty kilometres from the open gulf to the mouth of the Neva, marked by buoys and lights, and it remains the main artery for ships entering the city.
Read the complete The Maritime Channel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
53 km in you reach The Maritime Channel. Next is Terioki.
4. Terioki
Terioki, or Terijoki in Finnish, is the old name of Zelenogorsk, a resort town on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about fifty kilometres from St Petersburg. Until the Winter War, it was part of Finland, and before the revolution it was one of the favourite dacha destinations for the wealthy of the imperial capital, who came by train to spend summers among the pine trees and sandy beaches. After the Soviet Union took the Karelian Isthmus in 1940 and again in 1944, the Finnish population left, and in 1948 the town was renamed Zelenogorsk, the green hill.
Read the complete Terioki write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Terioki, about halfway. Next is back through The Maritime Channel.
5. back through The Maritime Channel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Maritime Channel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Maritime Channel sits at 105 km, about halfway. Next is back through The English Park.
6. back through The English Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The English Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The English Park comes up 132 km in. Next is Tallinskoe Highway.
7. Tallinskoe Highway
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tallinskoe Highway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tallinskoe Highway closes the day.
Leg by leg
Tallinskoe Highway to The English Park
Tallinskoe Highway → The English Park is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The English Park to The Maritime Channel
The English Park → The Maritime Channel is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Maritime Channel to Terioki
The Maritime Channel → Terioki is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Terioki to back through The Maritime Channel
Terioki → back through The Maritime Channel is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Maritime Channel to back through The English Park
back through The Maritime Channel → back through The English Park is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The English Park to Tallinskoe Highway
back through The English Park → Tallinskoe Highway is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.