Why this ride
An 84 km round trip from Kronstadt - roughly 1 h 20 in the saddle. The stops in between: Northern battery No. 6, The Village of Olgino and back through Northern battery No. 6. The coast is the point of it.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Coastal fort “Shanetz” and The Village of Olgino
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 84 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 20
- 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
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 17 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go — slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
For 17 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Coastal fort “Shanetz”
Shanetz sounds like a word for a small redoubt, and that is roughly what these coastal forts were: low, squat batteries put on islets and spits to cover the fairways into the Gulf of Finland. This one lies in the western approaches of Kotlin, on the shoals north of the island, and it belongs to the great ring of defences that earned Kronstadt its nickname as the key to Petersburg. The forts earned their keep during the Crimean War, when Allied ships came up the Baltic, took a look at the defences and decided not to risk an attack.
Read the complete The Coastal fort “Shanetz” write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Coastal fort “Shanetz” is where the day begins. Next is Northern battery No. 6, 17 km on.
2. Northern battery No. 6
Kronstadt's guns were never only on the island. Peter the Great founded the fortress on Kotlin Island in 1703 to shut the mouth of the Neva, and over the next two centuries the defences spread across the shallows of the gulf, onto artificial islands and onto the northern shore, where numbered batteries covered the channel from the Karelian side. Northern Battery No. 6 belongs to that system, a low earthwork-and-masonry position on the coast near Gorskaya and Aleksandrovskaya, the old Gulf resort belt west of Lisy Nos.
Read the complete Northern battery No. 6 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Northern battery No. 6 comes up 17 km in. Next is The Village of Olgino.
3. The Village of Olgino
On the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, just beyond the city's edge, Olgino is a place of pines, sand and low wooden houses, a seaside suburb that grew up a century and more ago as a retreat for Saint Petersburg families who wanted fresh air and the beach without travelling far. It is part of the World Heritage Site that wraps the historic city and its surroundings, which includes not only palaces but villages, parks and landscapes like this one.
Read the complete The Village of Olgino write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
34 km in you reach The Village of Olgino. Next is back through Northern battery No. 6, 17 km on.
4. back through Northern battery No. 6
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Northern battery No. 6 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Northern battery No. 6, late in the day. Next is The Coastal fort “Shanetz”.
5. The Coastal fort “Shanetz”
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Coastal fort “Shanetz” write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at The Coastal fort “Shanetz”. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Coastal fort “Shanetz” to Northern battery No. 6
The Coastal fort “Shanetz” → Northern battery No. 6 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Northern battery No. 6 to The Village of Olgino
Northern battery No. 6 → The Village of Olgino is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Village of Olgino to back through Northern battery No. 6
The Village of Olgino → back through Northern battery No. 6 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Northern battery No. 6 to The Coastal fort “Shanetz”
back through Northern battery No. 6 → The Coastal fort “Shanetz” is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.