Why this ride
A 94 km round trip from Ol’gino - roughly 2 h 10 in the saddle. It goes by way of The Zubov's Estate «Otrada», The Coastal fort “Shanetz” and back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada». The coast is the point of it.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof and The Coastal fort “Shanetz”
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 94 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 10
- 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
For about 19 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
- 19 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 18 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
- 26 km
- Named road
- Saint Petersburg Imperial Shore
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
The fountains of Peterhof run without a single pump, and that is the cleverest thing about them. When Peter the Great planned his gardens in the 1710s and 1720s, engineers led by Vasily Tuvolkov worked out that the water of the Ropsha hills, about twenty kilometres to the south, stood high enough above the Gulf of Finland to feed the fountains by gravity alone. They dug canals, built ponds and laid pipes, so that the water flows from the heights to the Upper Garden and down to the Great Cascade, where it shoots high into the air. The system, still essentially the same, is part of the UNESCO listing for Saint Petersburg.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof is where the day begins. Next is The Zubov's Estate «Otrada».
2. The Zubov's Estate «Otrada»
Oranienbaum is the old name of Lomonosov, and the story of the town begins with a man who liked to build on a grand scale. Alexander Menshikov, one of Peter the Great's closest friends, laid out a palace here on the south shore of the Gulf of Finland in the early eighteenth century, and the place became a favourite residence of the imperial family. Today its park and palaces are part of the Saint Petersburg ensemble that UNESCO listed in 1990.
Read the complete The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Coastal fort “Shanetz”.
3. 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
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach The Coastal fort “Shanetz”. Next is back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada».
4. back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada»
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada», late in the day. Next is The Water-bringing system of Peterhof.
5. The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Water-bringing system of Peterhof write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at The Water-bringing system of Peterhof. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof to The Zubov's Estate «Otrada»
The Water-bringing system of Peterhof → The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» to The Coastal fort “Shanetz”
The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» → The Coastal fort “Shanetz” is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Coastal fort “Shanetz” to back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada»
The Coastal fort “Shanetz” → back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» to The Water-bringing system of Peterhof
back through The Zubov's Estate «Otrada» → The Water-bringing system of Peterhof is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.