The Lower road is the road along the shore of the Gulf of Finland from St Petersburg to Old Peterhof. If you have already imagined beautiful seascapes, I have to disappoint you. The bay in this place is very shallow and the shore is low and marshy. Between the Lower Road and the clear water stretches a strip of wet land with bushes, rushes, reeds and other such vegetation. In some places narrow paths separate from the Lower Road towards the bay. I surmise that these paths were created by fishermen. I decided to try to explore these paths and see if they could be cycled to the shoreline.
The most convenient way to get to the start of my route is by suburban train. I chose my old Stels bike for this bike ride. It is a bicycle with a planetary hub and 24 inch wheels. I went for a ride early in the morning, there were still few people and I was freely placed in the carriage of the suburban train. It wasn't a long ride, the journey from the train station in the city centre to the desired station takes about half an hour. The Lower Road starts in Strelna, but I decided to go a bit further this time, to the next station. The beginning of the Lower Road is pretty boring, it's just a straight tarmac section. Instead of riding on the tarmac, I rode on the path from the next station.
The lower road is very popular with runners and cyclists. The first person I met on this road was a local resident out for a morning jog. Thereafter I met other runners and cyclists.
My first attempts at turning onto the paths didn't turn out to be too interesting. The path I chose turned several times at unexpected angles, and rejoined the main road. I decided to change tactics - first drive the entire section of the Lower Road to Alexandria Park, paying attention to all the paths towards the bay, and then choose the one that seemed more promising.
Alexandria Park is one of the parks that belong to the Peterhof Museum Reserve. This park is surrounded by a fence and bicycles are not allowed in the park. I quickly reached the park boundary, and decided to ride along the fence a bit and take some photos of some of the park pavilions. The first pavilion is located near the park boundary on Lower Road. A few years ago this gate was open you could start your walk through the park from this pavilion. Nowadays this gate is opened very rarely, only for household needs, and the entrance to the park is closer to the main motorway. This pavilion is called the Admiral's House, it was built in the first half of the 19th century by architect Andrei Shtakenshneider.
At the back of the park, behind the trees, you can see the household buildings. These buildings housed the kitchen, laundry and servants' flats. Not far from the entrance to the park is the Orthodox Church of the Passion-Bearer Tsarevich Alexis, and the gatekeeper's house is built right into the fence.
Along the fence of the park there is a comfortable wide road. This road is used by the park employees. At the end of this road is another park attraction, hidden from the eyes of most tourists - it is impossible to approach this pavilion from the park. The guardhouse at the gate of the fence was built at the very end of the 19th century and differs markedly in architectural style from earlier park service buildings.
The road along the fence ends near this park pavilion. It is literally 100 metres to the shore of the bay, but there is no direct path here. I noticed a narrow path leading somewhere in the dense shrubbery and decided to try to follow it. In some places the path was well-trodden, in others it was almost lost in the grass. Sometimes I had to carry my bike in my arms to get over the obstacles. But in the end I still came out the shore of the bay. If I may say so:) The bay is very overgrown at this point.
The path led me to the shore where another park pavilion had once stood. Now only the foundations of the Renell Pavilion remain.
From this point you can see the shoreline. The whole area to the east looks about the same, small islands of land in a sea of coastal grass. To the west you can see tall trees, they are growing in Alexandria Park. Next to these trees is a small sandy beach, I walked down to this beach during my walks in the park.
At this point my walk comes to a close. I decisively turn away from the bay and move in the opposite direction. The coastal landscape disappears and I am surrounded by tall pine trees. I only have to reach the suburban train station.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |