Why this ride
615 km from Kronstadt to Kronstadt, about 10 h 37 of riding. The stops in between: Fort «Ino», Fort «Seraya Loshad», Dudergof and The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta and The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 615 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 10 h 37
- 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 78 km this is Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 78 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta
Kronstadt's gold dome is visible from a long way off, and it belongs to the Naval Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, a great Byzantine-style church that was finished in 1913 for the sailors of the Baltic Fleet. The Soviets turned it into a cinema and then a sports hall, and a long restoration returned it to its original purpose in 2013. It now stands in the centre of a town that looks like an eighteenth-century naval base surrounded by sea.
Read the complete The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta is where the day begins. Next is Fort «Ino».
2. Fort «Ino»
In pine woods on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, west of the resort strip of Zelenogorsk, lie the shattered concrete remains of Fort Ino. It was built from 1909 as part of the defences of Saint Petersburg, a key battery of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, designed to close the gulf to enemy fleets with heavy guns. When Finland became independent, the fort ended up on Finnish territory, and under the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 its fortifications were to be dismantled, which is why what remains today is mostly blasted concrete, scattered among the trees and dunes.
Read the complete Fort «Ino» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort «Ino» comes up about 78 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort «Seraya Loshad».
3. 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
about 184 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort «Seraya Loshad». Next is Dudergof.
4. Dudergof
South-west of St Petersburg, the flat land of the Neva lowland rises unexpectedly into a pair of wooded hills, the Duderhof heights, the highest ground for many kilometres around. Their name comes from Finnish, and they have long been a landmark, used for military observation since the eighteenth century and as a summer retreat for the people of the capital. In the nineteenth century, the imperial army held its summer manoeuvres around nearby Krasnoye Selo, and the officers' villas and parade grounds became part of the social life of St Petersburg.
Read the complete Dudergof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dudergof, about halfway. Next is The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha.
5. The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha
Here the Neva is a working river, broad and fast, carrying barges and the outflow of Lake Ladoga past factories and housing blocks on its way to the city. Yet on the left bank near Ust-Izhora, among the industry, survive the traces of a much older riverside life: the country houses, datchas in the old aristocratic sense, that Saint Petersburg's wealthy families built along the Neva in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with parks running down to the water. The ensemble of the Zinoviev datcha is one of them, included in the long list of estates, parks and buildings that make up the World Heritage Site around the historic centre of Saint Petersburg.
Read the complete The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha sits at 192 km, about halfway. Next is back through Dudergof.
6. back through Dudergof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dudergof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dudergof comes up about 352 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Fort «Seraya Loshad».
7. back through Fort «Seraya Loshad»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
about 434 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Fort «Seraya Loshad». Next is back through Fort «Ino».
8. back through Fort «Ino»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort «Ino» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort «Ino», late in the day. Next is The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta.
9. The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta 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 615 km.
Leg by leg
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta to Fort «Ino»
The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta → Fort «Ino» is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Ino» to Fort «Seraya Loshad»
Fort «Ino» → Fort «Seraya Loshad» is 106 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort «Seraya Loshad» to Dudergof
Fort «Seraya Loshad» → Dudergof is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Dudergof to The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha
Dudergof → The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha to back through Dudergof
The Ensemble of the Zinoviev's Datcha → back through Dudergof is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dudergof to back through Fort «Seraya Loshad»
back through Dudergof → back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» to back through Fort «Ino»
back through Fort «Seraya Loshad» → back through Fort «Ino» is 116 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort «Ino» to The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta
back through Fort «Ino» → The Historical Part of the Town of Kronsta is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.