Why this ride
From Lomonosov it runs 68 km to Lomonosov; allow about 1 h 12 of riding. It goes by way of The Coastal Fort «Reef», The Barrier of Stone and The Datcha of the Hospital. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Datcha of the Hospital and The Barrier of Stone
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 68 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 12
- 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
Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did. Water arrives beside the road and stays for 16 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is The Coastal Fort «Reef».
2. The Coastal Fort «Reef»
In the shallow, grey waters of the Gulf of Finland, a chain of fortified islands guards the sea approach to Saint Petersburg. Peter the Great founded the naval base of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island in 1703, and over the following two centuries forts were built on artificial islets and reefs to the north and south, to form a defensive screen. In many cases the forts are military or ruined, and visits require permission.
Read the complete The Coastal Fort «Reef» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Coastal Fort «Reef» comes up 17 km in. Next is The Barrier of Stone.
3. The Barrier of Stone
The Barrier of Stone is a name that sounds like a medieval wall, though what is actually out here is a creature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: the great flood barrier that stretches across the Gulf of Finland to protect St Petersburg. The city has been flooded again and again since its foundation, because it sits at the mouth of the Neva on land barely above sea level, and when westerly storms push water up the gulf the river backs up and spills into the streets. The worst floods are remembered in literature, most famously in Pushkin's poem about the bronze horseman.
Read the complete The Barrier of Stone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
33 km in you reach The Barrier of Stone. Next is back through The Coastal Fort «Reef».
4. Back to The Datcha of the Hospital
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through The Coastal Fort «Reef», late in the day. Next is The Datcha of the Hospital.
5. The Datcha of the Hospital
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at The Datcha of the Hospital. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Datcha of the Hospital to The Coastal Fort «Reef»
The Datcha of the Hospital → The Coastal Fort «Reef» is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Coastal Fort «Reef» to The Barrier of Stone
The Coastal Fort «Reef» → The Barrier of Stone is 10 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Barrier of Stone to Back to The Datcha of the Hospital
The Barrier of Stone → Back to The Datcha of the Hospital is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.