Why this ride
A 244 km round trip from Gostilitsy - roughly 3 h 57 in the saddle. It goes by way of The Park «Alexandrova Datchs», Yukkovskaya Elevation and back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs». The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag and Yukkovskaya Elevation
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 244 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 57
- 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
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → The Park «Alexandrova Dat
This part of the ride is 53 km of The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → The Park «Alexandrova Dat.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 53 km
A-121 Ladoga and Sortavala
For about 67 km this is A-121 Ladoga and Sortavala, 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
- 67 km
- Named road
- A-121 Ladoga and Sortavala
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
Gostilitsy is a village on the Izhora Upland, west of Ropsha and south of Peterhof, and it is one of those places near St Petersburg where the imperial past hides behind fences and overgrown trees. The estate here is associated with Alexei Razumovsky, the Ukrainian Cossack singer who rose to become the favourite and, by many accounts, the secret husband of Empress Elizabeth in the eighteenth century. The palace and park ensemble that grew up around the manor included a house, a church, ponds and landscaped grounds fed by springs, and it is listed among the monuments of the historic centre of St Petersburg and related groups, a UNESCO site that includes many of the palaces and estates around the city.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag is where the day begins. Next is The Park «Alexandrova Datchs».
2. The Park «Alexandrova Datchs»
Pavlovsk is among the largest landscape parks in Europe, and it began as a gift. In 1777 Catherine the Great gave the land to her son Paul, and he and his wife built a palace and a park here, which was designed by the Scottish architect Charles Cameron and then expanded over decades. The park covers more than five hundred hectares, and its mix of woods, meadows, rivers and pavilions is a model of the English landscape style adapted to the Russian plain.
Read the complete The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yukkovskaya Elevation.
3. Yukkovskaya Elevation
The Karelian Isthmus, north of Saint Petersburg, was Finnish until 1940, and the place names still carry the echo: Pargolovo, Levashovo, Kuokkala, now called Repino. The Yukki Heights, or Yukkovskaya Elevation, are among the higher ground on this stretch, a ridge of sandy hills and pine forest scattered with summer houses. Many of the datchas date from the late nineteenth century, when wealthy Petersburgers began to build wooden villas with carved trim and glassed verandas among the pines.
Read the complete Yukkovskaya Elevation write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 120 km into the recorded legs you reach Yukkovskaya Elevation. Next is back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs».
4. back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs», late in the day. Next is The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag.
5. The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag to The Park «Alexandrova Datchs»
The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag → The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» to Yukkovskaya Elevation
The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» → Yukkovskaya Elevation is 67 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Yukkovskaya Elevation to back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs»
Yukkovskaya Elevation → back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» to The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag
back through The Park «Alexandrova Datchs» → The Palace and Park Ensemble of the Villag is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.