Around Ladoga by car. View Full Version

On the railway map of the Leningrad region, I was always interested in the Irinovsky direction a rather short line going from St. Petersburg to the east and ending on the shore of Lake Ladoga. The line "to nowhere", but trains run along it. What is there at the end? And what, in fact, does Lake Ladoga look like, after which the terminal station of this line is named?

I also knew that during the war it was this railway that was the “Road of Life”, and this was the second reason why when I finally got tired of walking around St. Petersburg, on the next weekend I took an electric train at the Finland Station and went to the Ladoga Lake station .

The train to Lake Ladoga takes about an hour and twenty minutes. The line passes through Vsevolozhsk, a suburb of St. Petersburg, which, despite its relative proximity, belongs to the Leningrad region. There are no large settlements beyond Vsevolozhsk, and the line really goes “to nowhere” it’s even strange that electric trains have not been canceled yet.

Once this railway was built by a certain Baron Korf to carry peat along it. It turned out to rhyme :) The road was narrow-gauge, and it had its own small railway station, Okhtinsky. In the 1920s it was changed to a regular track, reached the Finlyandsky railway station, and Okhtinsky was demolished. Behind the Melnichny Ruchey station in Vsevolozhsk, the road now divides into two directions to Lake Ladoga and Nevskaya Dubrovka and both are dead ends. The road to Lake Ladoga is single-track. The only station is now located in the village of Borisova Griva, and in Irinovka and other villages along the way there are only stops.

I got to Lake Ladoga on the nominal train "Change". Nothing from the unnamed, however, did not differ.

The station is a dead end, and, apart from electric trains, nothing goes here. However, the station building is quite large and unusual. Although there are no ticket offices at the station.

The first monument stands right there at the station. Some piece of torn metal. I could not figure out what it was the sign seems to have been torn off.

The second monument is also near the station, a steam locomotive from blockade times. And the last kilometer column with the inscription "Road of Life".

Seeing that I was photographing a steam locomotive, an elderly woman passing by from the train advised me to go to the Museum of the Road of Life, and showed me how to get there. I heard about the fact that there is a Museum of the Road of Life in this village, but I had no plans to go there at first (I don’t really like museums in general). And then, after thinking, I decided to take a look. And I did not regret it, but about the museum a little lower.

As far as I understood from the signs, there are two villages right next to it - the station Ladoga Lake and the slightly larger Osinovets.

And here is Lake Ladoga itself. It's really close here. Lake Ladoga is much more like a sea than the real St. Petersburg Sea, the Gulf of Finland. It is bigger, and deeper, and more severe. Of course, I couldn't help but like it :)

I wonder if in clear weather you can see the far shore here. Before it should be about 25 km. Of course, the lake itself is much wider, about 120 kilometers by 170 , this is just its southernmost part, the Shlisselburg Bay.

In St. Petersburg on this day (December 4) it was +2 and damp yes, in fact, in St. Petersburg it is still +2 and damp. And the lake is noticeably cooler. It was snowing, and the sand on the shore froze and formed such a sharp edge. It is interesting when the lake itself freezes.

At least the swamps by the road were already frozen over.

The museum here is also just a few minutes walk, but on the way to it, a couple more monuments manage to meet.

Here is the museum. At first it seemed to me that the door was locked, but when I started photographing the outdoor exhibition, my aunt came out and asked me to pay. I went in, paid and looked at the internal exposition too :) They say that there are quite a lot of visitors to the museum, especially in a more decent time of the year. With me, there were only two men who looked at everything much faster than me. I had to walk alone again with a smart look under the watchful eye of museum aunts, which I don’t like so much; however, it is even worth it.

I really liked the museum. Although the content seems to be the usual photographs, diagrams, documents, newspaper clippings, machine guns and other not very large items from those times, ship models. Maybe it's because the subject matter is interesting. In general, I am not a fan of military history, but the topic of the blockade of Leningrad has always made a very strong impression on me. And just to live in those places where there were battles and pillboxes have been standing since then is also, let's say, impressive. This is not the Urals for you, where, apart from Pugachev and the White Czechs, they never fought with anyone. I learned a lot about the Road of Life for the first time. For example, I was surprised that in the summer, much more cargo was carried by barges along Ladoga than in winter over ice by cars and by a temporary railway. It would seem that ice is easier ...

Imagine what it meant for people to read in the newspaper: SHLISSELBURG OUR.

This diagram shows the Ladoga Lake station (there is no railroad now to Morier Bay) and Osinovets Bay, where barges came. I went to Cape Osinovets after visiting the museum.

The outdoor exposition of the museum is quite large.

Vessels (in a very deplorable state, but somehow even better. You can feel how much time has passed).

Transport plane even.

And something in the museum appeared already clearly later. For example, this pile of scrap metal is all that remains of the downed Il-2 attack aircraft. In particular, the oval piece of iron on the left seemed to be a sheet of armor behind the pilot's back. The dents on it seem to symbolize.

And this is a truck lifted from the bottom of the lake.

Closer up.

Another monument on the territory of the museum.

Behind the museum begins the village, the main street of which is also called the Road of Life. I didn't take a picture, but the village is actually mostly built up with new cottages, many with a view of Lake Ladoga. In general, no wonder, the place is good. I would have lived myself :) I wonder how much the plot with a view of the lake costs ...

The A128 motorway goes from St. Petersburg to the village. And it is also called the Road of Life. It begins in St. Petersburg in the Rzhevka area, where the Ryabovskoe highway is called; runs almost parallel to the Irinovskaya railway through Vsevolozhsk, Borisova Griva, Osinovets/Ladoga Lake; and ends in Morya, a village about five kilometers north of here.

Highway A128 at the exit from the village.

Cape Osinovets is now mostly built up. Slightly in the depths of the cape is a lighthouse, now used as a cellular communication mast. The lighthouse was built in 1905; it is the second tallest lighthouse on Ladoga. The bay into which the barges entered is located on the other side of the cape (it is poorly visible from the shore). Before the war, it was believed that this bay was completely unsuitable for the entry of ships. The war showed that, as they say, there would be a desire ...

The lighthouse was my favorite. Actually, for the first time in my life I saw a real lighthouse nearby. It's a pity you can't get on it now. According to the Internet, earlier it was possible to agree with the watchman, but now, when the antennas have been hung on him, it’s already FIG. By the way, nearby on the cape is a recreation center called "Osinovetsky Lighthouse".

Well, a hundred meters behind the end of the contact wire, the rails also end, a very massive dead-end prism. I will have to come here again sometime and go further, to Morya. There, they say, there is an abandoned military unit :)

September 8th, 2014 05:49 pm

It's funny to say, but I never reached the end of the Road of Life by railway before. Yes, I have been on cars and buses many times, although not as often as I would like (especially since at one time I even collaborated with one of the branches of the Road of Life Museum), but I never traveled by railway to those parts ... This an unfortunate misunderstanding was corrected the day before, which I hasten to tell you about today!

Getting to the Road of Life from St. Petersburg is as easy as shelling pears, just take an electric train at the Finlyandsky railway station, the final destination of which is the Ladoga Lake station, located a few hundred meters from the railway tracks. Travel time along this entire railway line will be almost an hour and a half, the fare is 113 rubles. For students and schoolchildren - 54 rubles.

You will drive through forests, small villages, pass the district center of one of the largest and most economically profitable districts of the Leningrad region - Vsevolozhsk. Outside the window there will be beautiful landscapes - picturesque swamps, birch and spruce forests, small rivers. I didn’t take pictures along the way, because sometimes the trees grow very close to the tracks, you can see behind them quite well, but at speed the camera’s focus would still snatch out only these sprawling branches. So go and see the Road of Life yourself, it's worth it!

The Ladoga Lake station is located in the village of the same name and is the terminus on its branch of the Irinovsky direction of the Oktyabrskaya railway. The station is located near Cape Osinovetsky, and therefore the village of Lake Ladoga has another, unofficial, name - Osinovets.

The village has a very unusual station building:

On the platform farthest from the frame is the same train on which my friend and I arrived:

Near the station there is a waypost of the Road of Life, which are installed along its entire length both along the railway and along the A128 St. Petersburg - Morye highway. A rare steam locomotive flaunts near the pillar, as far as I understand, these are exactly the ones that went along the Road of Life during the war:

And now you can see the lake. In the foreground - the same road St. Petersburg - More:

Do you see the cat?

We approach the descent to the beach and see a very beautiful tree:

We go around it - and we are speechless with delight!

Ladoga inspires, Ladoga delights, Ladoga impresses, Ladoga is a real small world inside our planet! Once again I was convinced of this. Recently I was in Petrokrepost (the village named after Morozov, that is), Shlisselburg and the Oreshek fortress, now I have again visited Lake Ladoga, and the impressions do not think to fade away!

Being on the shore of the lake on a sunny, warm day in early September, you simply cannot realize what happened here 70 years ago ... It seems impossible all the horror that took place in places of this inhuman beauty, this self-confident harmony, this supreme silence ...

But back to the direct story, I will leave you the right to speculate on the above topic after reading the entire post.

Does anyone know what that thing is on the beach? Is it for tents?

We went down to the water itself, the views there are excellent. I don't think comments are needed, see for yourself:

By the way, the water in the lake was warm, which pleased. I think, with an indefatigable desire and dexterity for some, so to speak, coolness, after coming ashore to one of you, dear readers, you can even take a dip in Ladoga before it has completely cooled down)

But what made me sad ... Yes, I think you yourself saw everything - a bunch of abandoned broken barbecues, garbage, broken bottles, dirt ... Alas, our people do not protect the treasure that they got for nothing, just because they are here live...

Well, it was also sad that a maximum of 100 meters of the coast was open, the rest of it was blocked, so you won’t be able to thoroughly walk along the lake, alas :(

Therefore, we left the beach and went along the road, since it was impossible to go along the water.

And they came to the Museum of the Road of Life. I did not cooperate with this department of his, therefore it was doubly interesting to get there. However, we went to the museum already on the way back, but for now we went further along the highway:

Does anyone know why they make such holes in the road? It's always been interesting...

The houses of local residents are almost all very even nothing like that)

And over there, behind one of them, you can already see the goal of our journey - the Osinovetsky lighthouse, famous in certain circles!

We pass another 100 meters, and it becomes almost perfectly visible:

The condition of the lighthouse is not quite marketable in places, but it is no longer used, but as a landmark it is still good and authentic:

We walk along the street towards the coast in the hope of reaching an open space from which the lighthouse will be fully visible. Along the way, we pay attention to the interesting location of the clouds - it feels like there are mountains on the horizon:

And then a bummer overtakes us: (Apparently, the entire territory around the lighthouse has already been built up and blocked off with fences, we didn’t manage to get to it: (Very, very sorry ... The fact that the access to the lake is blocked is still okay, although , as far as I know, it is prohibited by law to do this ... But I wanted to get to the lighthouse. Well, no, no, and so we saw it at least a little with our own eyes:

The same 145th route, we go back to the museum:

Here, in fact, he is. A full ticket costs only 60 rubles, a concession ticket costs a ridiculous 30 rubles. You will have to pay another 50 rubles for photography, but if you take into account where the museum is located and assume what funds it lives on, this penny amount is not at all a pity. This is to say that in many museums I basically do not buy the right to shoot, considering this a violation of the rules for visiting cultural institutions. But here, again, a slightly different case.

Inside there is an impressive collection of weapons from the Great Patriotic War, models of equipment, maps, personal belongings and photographs of participants in the operation of the Road of Life. There will also be a minimum of comments here, especially since most of the objects in the frame come with museum plates:

I saw him for the first time in my life!

And through these binoculars you can look at the lake and the military guns standing in the yard:

Apparently, the Fritz were decently surprised at the breakthrough of the Blockade and scrambled with all their might if their belongings were found in huge quantities, in particular, untouched new uniforms.

Lake Ladoga ... This place from year to year invariably attracts thousands of tourists and guests of the northern capital. The question of how you can get to Lake Ladoga from St. Petersburg, how many kilometers you need to overcome, is of interest to many. Let's talk about this in our article.

Neva-sea

As you know, Lake Ladoga is the largest in Europe, and it is rightfully called the sea. When you get to these places, you begin to truly understand the beauty and grandeur of this ancient lake with full-fledged, completely sea tides, steep storms, with a very deep and bottomless bottom. The ancient name of Ladoga is the Neva-Sea. This is due to the proximity of the Neva, which originates in these waters. The area of ​​Lake Ladoga, together with the islands, reaches a total of about 18 thousand square kilometers, the average depth is 50 meters.

Numerous islands are concentrated mainly in the north. Two large ones and Mantsinsaari are located in the central part of the lake. The water of this freshwater sea is slightly mineralized and transparent. During the severe northern winter, the lake is covered with a layer of ice, which begins to thaw only by mid-late April near the southernmost shores. Sharp gusts of the north wind drive unmelted ice masses into the Neva. About how you can get to Lake Ladoga from St. Petersburg, a little further ...

north channel

The character of Ladoga is cool and unpredictable. Often storm winds prevailing in one part of the lake-sea are replaced by almost complete calm in another. In calm and clear weather in this mystical place you can see mirages - unknown islands hovering in a haze above the water or the outlines of unknown ships disappearing in the morning fog ...

The history of these places goes back to ancient times. Approximately in the 9th century, the first ships began to plow the waters of Ladoga, laying the ancient trade route, known as "from the Varangians to the Greeks." It was the first to connect the northern lands with the southern ones, Scandinavia with Byzantium, South Rus' with the North.

Stretching for thousands of kilometers, the Ladoga shores are inhabited by a few inhabitants. There are mainly small old towns and villages here. Priozersk, Novaya Ladoga, Sortavala, Shlisselburg… These names exude the north wind, coolness and immensity.

Way to Ladoga. The fastest and most convenient way

The first question that worries all tourists arriving in the northern capital who have already managed to enjoy walks on a river boat and are a little tired of a rich cultural life, visiting theaters-museums and evening promenades along the Nevsky - is how to get to Lake Ladoga from St. Petersburg? First of all, we note that there are many ways to get to Ladoga.

For lovers of long walks, we can recommend walking, but this, of course, is not suitable for everyone. By far, the most convenient way to cover a distance of about 60 km is by car. To find out how to get from St. Petersburg to Lake Ladoga by car, you can read the numerous reviews of tourists or local residents who often visit these places.

Passing numerous coastal villages along a rather old, but quite decent asphalt road, you can drive to the nearest beach in about an hour. A wide sandy strip of the shore, bordered by high, small, slowly running waves on the shore, transparent water depth and a fresh sea breeze. All this is our northern lake-sea!

By train from St. Petersburg

If you look at the road map, St. Petersburg and Lake Ladoga are not separated by such a great distance. What other way can you get from one point to another? There are, of course, other ways, for example, by rail. You can easily find out the schedule of passing trains, as well as make inquiries about how to get from St. Petersburg to Lake Ladoga by train, at the city station.

After traveling for a couple of hours on a suburban train, you find yourself at the final station of Lake Ladoga. Guests arriving on the platform are solemnly greeted by a local historical monument, a steam locomotive, which witnessed the events more than half a century ago, when the path from the northern capital to the rest of the country was tightly cut off by the German invaders. During the Second World War, the famous "Road of Life" passed through the ice of the lake, the way of saving many thousands of residents of the besieged city. As a sign of the meeting of the land and water parts of the "Road of Life", a memorial monument "The Broken Ring" was erected.

Having decided on the transport, do not postpone the trip. - certainly one of the pearls of Karelia, a place that everyone who has visited these northern latitudes at least once should visit.

Travel report by car around Lake Ladoga. Campsites, rivers, fortresses, Kremlins, monasteries, churches and other sights of the Russian land.

Moscow - Vologda. Highway M8 "Kholmogory"

There was no summer in Moscow this year. Not a day without rain. So on the eve of our departure, the sky was covered with solid gray clouds. We ran quickly to load the car, since all things were already packed. And, as it turned out, just in time. Less than an hour passed, as the abyss of heaven opened up, and poured another endless rain. Under his tedious knocking, we went to bed - tomorrow the rise is scheduled for 4 in the morning.

The morning of July 8 greeted us with the same drizzling rain. We quickly load the rest of the things and our daughter Polina into the car, and leave at 4:45. Start to Vologda. Here is the planned itinerary:

For the first 3 hours of the journey, we are joylessly watered by either an increasing or a weakening stream of water. The first glimmers of hope dawned with the first rays of the sun somewhere in the Yaroslavl region. Faith in good weather grew and strengthened in us with every kilometer we traveled from Moscow. Vologda greeted us with sunshine and almost lunch time - 12:30.

Behind the highway M8 "Kholmogory". After a short meeting, we decided to postpone lunch until later. In the meantime, the sun is shining, you can stretch your stiff legs, take a walk and climb the bell tower.

Having rubbed the ear of the poet Batyushkov's horse for good luck along the way and overcoming 294 steps, we ended up on the upper platform. Vologda from a bird's eye view is remarkably good.

The son of Tyoma with a keen eye saw the players below and demanded a ball for himself. As a result of going to the store, he received the ball, and Polya received the long-awaited spinner. After walking around the Vologda Kremlin and having a bite in a local cafe, we go to Priluki. Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery I liked in the pictures with its rainbow towers.

The reality was even better than the pictures. Beautiful powerful monastery-fortress. This is how it should be written in all guidebooks for foreigners about our monasteries - a castle-fortress or a monastery castle, so that they understand what power and splendor they can miss if they do not come to our northern lands.

Having enjoyed the evening sun to our heart's content, we drive towards the overnight stay in "Sokolsky Bor" on the territory of the "Russian North" nature reserve. I must say, the opportunity to stay overnight on a Saturday evening in such a wonderful place on the banks of the Sheksna caused serious concerns - there could simply be no places. But the weather played into our hands - the cold and rains scared away all the vacationers, and we were almost the only ones. We comfortably settled in a wonderful parking lot with a view of the canal, a table, a canopy and a sandy descent to the water.

Wine from sunny Montenegro, barbecue ... As if there were almost 700 km of the way. The evening was a success!

Second day.

It has been gloomy since morning. The air was simply saturated with moisture, but this did not prevent us from swimming in the un-summer cold water of the canal. Mosquitoes, who had been patiently waiting for us outside the tents all night, joyfully pounced on the sleepy "treat". Hot tea, sweet porridge, and at 9:30 we leave the hospitable parking lot and go to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, which is also a castle, which is also a fortress.

And here we are covered with a real downpour. After a cursory discussion of what to see in the rain, we choose the fortress walls. Having started at a frisky gallop, in a minute we were already walking along the 500-year-old walls, 7 meters wide and 10 meters high, according to the guidebook.

Feeling completely safe under a massive roof, we wandered along the walls, looking with pleasure at either the intensifying or weakening rain. In a moment of calm, they ran to the Assumption Church and the bell tower.

We looked at a nice exhibition of bells and admired the view of Kirillov. We walked on the shores of Lake Siverskoye, dropped into Goritsy, where we mourned the deplorable state of the Goritsky convent and drew water from a holy spring.

And all this time clouds swirled over us and the incessant rain drizzled. In the direction of Belozersk left at about one o'clock in the afternoon. The town on Round Lake is only 40 km away. It would seem a little, but two things were alarming - the ferry and the fact that the navigator showed more than an hour's journey. Suspicion of a difficult road was strengthened after turning at the sign "Belozersk not where the road leads." The asphalt ended and the grader went, and what a pit on the pit. The speed decreased to 20-30 km/h. By the time we got to the ferry, everything turned into sawdust in my head. But there is no evil without good. We arrived at the ferry at about 2 pm and, as it turned out, on time - there is a break from 1 pm to 2 pm, and earlier we would not have gone anywhere anyway.

After the ferry, the road did not change at all, and we sadly realized that if we do not take action, we will have to drive the next 20 km for another hour. And measures were taken - waving a hand at the funnels and the suspension, they flew over the pits at a speed of 60 km / h, slowing down from time to time to take a breath. Nevertheless, they arrived in Belozersk only at the beginning of the fourth hour - hungry and cold, like a flock of crocodiles. After a hearty lunch, the mood lifted.

The rain stopped, a gusty cold wind blew, dispersing the annoying clouds. There was strength to fly up to the earthen rampart - all that was left of the fortress walls of the White City, to walk along the dam and admire the stormy White Lake.

With a delay from the schedule for a whole hour, we left in the direction of Lipin Bor. The ferry was really late and hung for another half an hour. It’s another 2 hours to get to Lake Kovzhskoye, where we have planned an overnight stay - we’ll be there only by 9 pm. But what to do ... And tomorrow is a long day, you have to get up early. And so it turned out. We arrived at the place only at 9 o'clock. We drove off 200 miles, and even on such roads. Camp, pasta, Vologda cranberries - and sleep. Tomorrow is an early rise and a long day.

Leningrad region and Karelia

Day three.

We left at 8:30, excellent result. Course to Vytegra. You can afford not to drive, go and stare around. Yesterday's rain, as it was not - the dazzling sun, everything around sparkled with colors. An hour later we reached Vytegra along the A119 highway and. The main attraction of this town - a submarine - gave a lot of pleasure to the male part of our company.

But the next stop - the village of Upper Mandrogi - pleased everyone, as well as the roads of the Leningrad Region. Eh, Vologda, Vologda... Mandrogs reminded Kizhi, only a higher class and without churches.

We wandered around the old village, looked into needlework workshops, wood carvings, a pottery workshop, a blacksmith shop. We listened to the sound of old Russian musical instruments and swung on swings-logs.

At the end, they ate cabbage soup from a cast-iron pot and fragrant dumplings. Cheerful and satisfied, they rushed along the chic Kola highway to Olonets. The ancient fortress in Olonets, unfortunately, has not been preserved due to the loss of its strategic importance.

But we walked around the city center, admired the church on the island and bought fresh Ladoga fish, which we fried on coals with pleasure in the evening.

Parking on the shores of Lake Ladoga on a chic sandy beach with a view of the sunset, fried fish, washed down with Vologda cranberries - for this it is worth overcoming the difficulties of travel, shaking along the bumps of the Vologda region, feeding mosquitoes and pulling out a car stuck in the sands.

We got up for the night in the Vidlitsa area around 20:00.

Day four.

In the morning they made themselves an indulgence - they got up at 7. A quiet sunny morning, a calm surface of the lake, merging into the foggy horizon with the sky, and the almost complete absence of mosquitoes. We leave at 10:00 to the marble canyon Ruskeala. The road along the eastern shore of Ladoga is delightful. It's a roller coaster feeling - you fly up, then down, a sharp turn and up again, and down again. So in the flights time flew by unnoticed, and now we are in the marble canyons of Ruskeala. A place where you want to return - as it is written on the poster at the entrance. Yes, it happened - we returned here 6 years later, and immediately on the boats - now we are experienced and know where to start.

Grottoes, bottomless depths and marble sheer walls - this is an unforgettable experience. But the main attractions for children are the zip-line or the flight over the abyss, in this case, over the water surface of the canyon. You put on the system, fasten yourself to the roller and soar over the canyon along with the seagulls.

Speaking of seagulls - touching, small, gray, downy lumps - small seagulls, chayats. Sitting on the rocks, they open their mouths and cry plaintively, waiting for the mother seagull to put a worm in her mouth. The trail along the top of the canyon lengthened, an underground lake appeared and the road to real marble paintings - nature painted the marble sections so intricately.

With piles of marble stones in their pockets and backpacks, they loaded into cars and spent the night. This time in the rocks of the northern fjord of Lake Ladoga not far from Sortavala. On the way, we bought local smoked trout and arranged a royal dinner.

Yesterday they called from Valaam. There is a storm on Ladoga, meteors do not go. Valaam is cancelled. They got upset, of course. So well planned, and on you. We decided to slowly get up and swim, since the water in this part of the bay turned out to be quite warm. But all plans were confused by the rain. As soon as the porridge was cooked, the sky broke through, and in addition to the storm on the lake, a storm was added in the sky.

Water in bowls of porridge was poured faster than porridge. A second - and the porridge turned into buckwheat soup. Breakfast was swallowed in some places - some under the awning of the tent, some under the open trunk of the car, and some did not even get out of the tent at all. We waited for a moment of a short lull, quickly packed up, left things in cars and drove towards Sortavala to wait out the rain and go to the store.

It should be noted how lucky we are. While we were driving, it was raining, but in Sortavala it subsided, the sun even tried to peek out. But as soon as we got into the cars to go further, it poured with a new redoubled force. Rejoicing that we were not on Valaam, but in warm cars, we moved to Priozersk. The beautiful Karelian autobahn with new asphalt, European interchanges and beautiful information boards in two languages ​​abruptly turned into a dead dirt road immediately after the sign "Welcome to the Leningrad Region". Apparently not "good" and not "welcome".

In general, the Karelians are great - their roads are at the highest level! But the Petersburgers let us down - almost 20 km to Priozersk were shaking through pits and potholes. Well, we are already familiar, we drowned and rushed over the pits, lightly touching the broken-down road with the wheels.

The rain subsided, and we were quite able to enjoy both hodgepodge and hot pots, and the city of Priozersk, aka Korela, aka Kexholm, aka Kakisalmi.

The men were interested in two tanks near the fortress of Korela, and we from the Bird Fields were interested in an unusual variety of gull with brown heads and reddish beaks. Seagulls and ducks ate our bagels with pleasure. The Korela fortress itself is small and compact, with casemates, boulder walls, a grass rampart and a souvenir shop (but of course!).

We walked around it quickly and even went to the museum. We spent the night on a gorgeous sand dune 10 km from Priozersk in a beautiful pine forest on the shores of Lake Ladoga. This time, the prudently stretched awning did not deprive us of evening gatherings overlooking the stormy lake, where the sound of the surf merged with the sound of heavy rain.

Rest on Ladoga

Day six.

The morning greeted us with a dazzling sun. How changeable the weather is. Ladoga calmed down, the waves lazily rolled onto the sandy shore. Morning swimming invigorated - the water in Ladoga is not warmer than 15-16 degrees, it is good to swim in it after a bath. In the sun, everyone grew limp, and the morning passed lazily and unhurriedly.

After breakfast, we were organized for a team game of aliens - deliver a plate on ropes from point A to point B. The well-coordinated and friendly actions of our team led to the successful completion of the task, and the plate safely reached its destination. But it was not possible to get to the island of Konevets with a monastery and a mountain-chapel. Simultaneously with us, the first person of the state decided to visit Konevets, and the island was closed. But the day was a success - the children dug a moat and built a sand fortress, and the adults were happy to relax and rest before tomorrow's busy day.

Fort Severny and Kronstadt

Day seven.

Our final morning in nature. Further we are waiting for hotels and apartments. A little sad: there will be no tents, gatherings around the fire, smooth stones, sandy beaches, swimming in a cold lake. Ahead of Kronstadt, St. Petersburg, palaces and fortresses, rivers and fountains. And also Polina's birthday, which she is so looking forward to.

Just set sail from the parking lot, poured another rain, as if there was no yesterday's sun. We broke away from the rain only at the entrances to St. Petersburg. The road along the dam caused admiration - a very large-scale structure! Before reaching the city, we turned to Fort Severny. The road is unpaved, the pits are full of water.

The fort itself is a sad sight, dilapidated and overgrown with grass. Pseudo-graffiti-scribbled bunkers with garbage inside gape like black holes. The building is impressive, but abandoned. But it could have been completely different - a beautiful asphalt road, mowed lawns, toilets, tents with souvenirs, and longer the fort itself is majestic in its power, where in each pillbox there is a cannon or other weapon of those times. You can fantasize further, but it is useless. And we're moving on. The golden dome of the Naval Cathedral of Kronstadt is visible from the dam.

Close by, on Anchor Square, it makes a grandiose impression. Even commemorative plaques, barbarously destroyed in 1917, have been restored. A boat trip with an overview of the island forts did not make much of an impression, perhaps because of the weather. Although we heard a couple of interesting stories.

At the end of the day, we managed to jump on the "leaving train" - to join the last excursion in Oranienbaum. True, it would be better to wander around the palace on your own, without listening to the guide.

The end of the day is a hearty dinner, a warm shower in a hotel, soft beds. It's nice to feel like you're in civilization!

Peterhof (Petrodvorets) and fountains

Day eight.

Today is Polina's birthday. Hooray! In honor of such a significant event, Polya woke up earlier than her parents and two eyes gleamed impatiently from under the blanket in anticipation - well, when? Here is the long-awaited moment - Polina's ears lengthened, and the gifts evenly filled the space of the parent's bed. After a festive breakfast (long live scrambled eggs!) we leave for a festive walk to Petrodvorets to the fountains.

This time we prudently stocked up with a second set of clothes. After all, you can't visit Petrodvorets and not get wet in the fountains. The weather pleased, in the morning the dazzling sun matched the holiday. We are waiting for the grand opening of the fountains. As soon as the last chords of musical accompaniment subside, we support the tradition with loud applause.

And rather to the cracker fountains. Change of clothes, as expected, came in handy - children could be squeezed out with clothes. 4 hours flew by instantly, and it's time for us to go to St. Petersburg. We checked into a hotel, received another portion of gifts, got dressed up and went to the promenade along the Nevsky Promenade with the end point - the Mansarda restaurant. The evening ended with an ascent to the colonnade of St. Isaac's Cathedral, contemplation of the evening Petersburg from a bird's eye view, an evening game of "crocodile" and taking a bath with a donated bomb.

Day nine.

Immediately after breakfast, we divided according to interests. The girls went to the Hermitage, part of the men's company took the metro to the Zenit stadium, and her husband Andrei went to rest from everyone and wander around St. Petersburg alone. We met on a survey boat that took us on the Neva, Fontanka and Moika. Peter is always good.

How many do not come, it is impossible to see enough. After lunch we leave the city and go to Shlisselburg. There we are waiting for another fortress of Ladoga - Oreshek.

And Shlisselburg itself is translated as the Key-city. In general, the history of all Ladoga fortresses can be described in the same way. It was built in the 14th century in the form of an earthen rampart and wooden walls. Soon the fortress burned down, it was rebuilt. She burned out again. Finally, a stone fortress is built. In the 17th century, in troubled times, the fortresses were captured by the Swedes, and at the beginning of the 18th century they were recaptured by Peter the Great. In the 18th century, those fortresses that by this time had not had time to burn down also lost their strategic importance. They turn into prisons.

Actually, such a description is also suitable for the Oreshek fortress, only it has one more page of history - the defenders of the fortress saved Leningrad during the Second World War, preventing the Nazis from closing the blockade ring.

Almost here (slightly to the north) the Road of Life came out to Ladoga. Here everything is permeated with the memory of the war, and even the fortress was restored only partially in memory of the heroic defense of the fortress. We were lucky, we got to the end of the "Knight's Festival". Right in the fortress, one could fight with swords, shoot from a bow, drink mead and watch a staged battle of the Second World War. Children and adults got a lot of pleasure, which was not overshadowed even by an hour-long wait for the boat to the mainland due to the mass departure of people from the festival.

Staraya Ladoga

Day ten.

In the morning we are looking for a tire fitting - there is a screw in the wheel. After Sunday, the city sleeps, at 9:30 everything is closed. Open tire fitting is found only on the third attempt. 5 minutes and the wheel is fine. The search took longer than the work itself.

Now we are rushing towards Staraya Ladoga, where our ring around Lake Ladoga ends. According to the legends, Great Rus' begins, because it was in Staraya Ladoga that Rurik landed on the shore and founded the first settlement. This leads to the positive thought that the completion of one thing is always the beginning of something else, new, even if spaced in time for centuries.

At the entrance to Staraya Ladoga we stop near the barrow of Prophetic Oleg. Here, according to the legend, he was bitten by a snake, and here he is buried.

In general, there were surprisingly many places in Staraya Ladoga where I wanted to stay. For example, a temple was discovered, and next to it was the Holy Spring. We got water and took a dip in the font. And such grace descended that you immediately feel - it was from here that the Russian land went!

And next to the source, the Staraya Ladoga caves are either an ancient temple, or an ancient settlement.

The galleries and tunnels of the cave, unfortunately, are filled with water. And here it is, the pearl of Staraya Ladoga - a fortress on the Volkhov River.

Here we have practically closed the ring of our route around Ladoga. We saw all three great rivers - Svir, Vuoksa and Volkhov, feeding with their waters Lake Ladoga and the Neva flowing from it. We saw the sources of the Neva and Volkhov and the mouths of the Neva and Volkhov. We visited all three surviving fortresses of Ladoga - Korel, Oreshka and Ladoga, admired the beauty of the northern nature, lived in tents and hotels.

We visited St. Petersburg, and at the end of the trip - Veliky Novgorod. The road, contrary to expectations, was not bad. A little let down the site on the border of the Leningrad and Novgorod regions, but after the Vologda roads, nothing was scary anymore. We briskly overtook trucks and cars, thinking with a slight sadness about the need to replace shock absorbers.

After 3 hours they lodged in Novgorod. Having slightly celebrated the arrival in Veliky Novgorod, we went to the evening promenade around the Kremlin. Pleasantly pleased with the evening animation on the street - children on roller skates, volleyball courts, people walking and relaxing.

End of the journey and results

Day eleven.

So today our journey ends. Before lunch, Veliky Novgorod, and then - home! In the morning the weather whispers: bright sun, curly clouds, warm breeze. The golden domes of Novgorod Sofia sparkle in the rays of the sun.

We successfully got on the morning bells - for 10 minutes the bell ringers played various melodies on the bells. After walking around the Kremlin, climbing the walls and listening to the service in the Sophia Cathedral, we go to Vitoslavitsy - the museum of wooden architecture.

At this time, a steel cloud came up, and Vitoslavitsy met us with pouring rain. But solid northern huts are an excellent shelter from bad weather. While we were joining the life and life of our ancestors, the weather smiled again, and by the time we returned to the city, the sun was already shining with might and main. Before leaving, we popped into the "Temple City" on the other side of the Volkhov. Churches here are growing like mushrooms after rain.

Farewell look at the city and farewell. There are 600 km ahead and one small stop in Vyshny Volochek. We get to our Aprelevka late at night. Journey completed.

During the trip, we traveled 2950 km, visited four regions, visited almost two dozen cities and towns. We traveled around Lake Ladoga, marked on the White, Kovzhsky and Onega lakes, saw fortresses and monasteries, tanks and submarines, canyons and caves, rivers, ferries and canals. We spent the night on rocks, beaches, in pine forests in sleeping bags and on soft featherbeds. We ate a lot of hodgepodge, managed to get tired of the impressions and hope not to get tired of each other. New miles of roads ahead!

Crazy summer poses amazing challenges for residents of megacities. After a working day, we rush not to the store, not to the cafe or home - but to the water. Bathe. And here the most important thing is to have time to relax: after all, the time for everything about everything is no more than 4-5 hours. website analyze where in the vicinity of Russian capitals you can quickly find a convenient body of water. We start from St. Petersburg.

Where : a very large lake with clear water and a sandy bottom. Drive along the Primorskoe highway, then turn right in the village of Zelenaya Roshcha, then go straight for about 10 km.

How long to go : from the Ring Road (intersection with the Primorskoye Highway) to Zelenaya Roshcha, the road takes about an hour. Another 10-15 minutes to the entrance to the lake.

Beach : available only on the territory of the camp of the same name. At the service of all the rest - a sandy descent to the water. The water here is clean and warm.

parking : we did not notice organized parking. However, the forest road allows even low city sedans to drive almost to the very shore. From the parking lot to the lake - 30-50 meters

Note : few people come to Mirror, but the number of horseflies and gadflies clearly goes beyond all boundaries. An attempt to manually exterminate these bloodsuckers does not save: there are too many of them.

2. Lake Ladoga, pos. Kokkorevo

Where : there are many places for swimming on Ladoga. We chose a fairly popular beach in the village of Kokkorevo. Drive along the Road of Life to the Broken Ring monument, then to the right 2-3 km.

How long to go : about an hour it takes the road directly from the beach to the Udelnaya metro station. You can drive to the Ring Road in 35-40 minutes. But this time is close to the record one, when not a single slug was seen on a weekday. In reality, from the Ring to this part of Ladoga - at least an hour.

Beach: sandy, the coastline is slightly narrower than on the Gulf of Finland. No worse than the sea, except for the meager infrastructure.

Water : very clean and very cold - in July at least. I'll have to remember to come back at the end of August...

parking : even on weekdays it is very difficult to park. Constant traffic jams for entry and exit; a car parked by the road is covered with an even layer of dust in an hour. From the parking lot to the lake - 20 meters.

Peculiarities : there are few toilets (we found one, and it is closed), and people on the beach are dark even on weekdays. Therefore, we do not advise you to go into the nearest forest - bathers have long dirtied it.

Where : a shallow peat lake three kilometers from the Komarovo platform. The road to it passes by the Komarovsky necropolis, where Anna Akhmatova is buried.

How long to go : 30-40 minutes from Koltsevaya, but a closed railroad crossing can increase the journey by another 10 minutes.

Beach : yes, but very modest. More often - a forest gentle slope to the water. You can swim if water lilies do not bother you. The water is silty, slightly cloudy, but incredibly warm.

parking : at the entrance to the lake, by the beach, there is a small area for parking. There are few places. You can leave the car further, but in this case you will not find sand or a beach nearby. From the parking lot to the lake - 5-10 meters.

Peculiarities : the water is warm, but muddy, cloudy and not the most pleasant for swimming.

4. Druzhinnoe ("Devil's") Lake

Where : small, deep forest lake. From Primorskoye Highway we turn onto Lenina Prospekt in Zelenogorsk and drive straight for about 5 km.

How long to go : 20-30 minutes from Ring Road

Beach : no, there is no beach here, but there is grass growing on the slopes of the hill, on which you can also lie down. There is also sand, but in a small amount among the roots of frequent trees. The water is quite clean and warm.

parking : vacationers flock to the lake rather sluggishly, there are enough parking spaces for everyone. As a rule, motorists occupy shady roadsides or two special paved "pockets". From the parking lot to the lake - 50-70 meters

Peculiarities : the lake is very small, places for independent recreation can be counted on the fingers. Finding a comfortable point is almost impossible.

5. Big Simaginskoe lake, it is also - "Beauty"

Where : a large beautiful lake 3 km from Lake Druzhinnoe.

How long to go : you can get to Krasavitsa both from Primorsky and Vyborgskoye highways. From the Ring Road, the road will take an average of 30-40 minutes, but this time can be tripled if the traffic is very dense.

Beach : sandy, not wide, in small fragments along the coast. Zyuminka is a steep sandy slope that can be reached if you approach the lake from the left side. The waters are quite clean and warm.

parking : roadside at your service. But it is narrow, and besides, you will have to walk about 300-400 meters from the highway to the lake.

Peculiarities : a large lake with a large number of vacationers. Even on a weekday, finding a place to lay out a towel is very difficult.

Where : relatively close - about 15 km behind the ring road along the Murmansk highway. To get to it, you need to drive along the Kola highway to the U-turn (the first one behind the village of Razmetelevo), and go back - about 5 kilometers. Before the gas station "Lukoil" - to the right along the dirt road.

How long to go : 15-20 minutes before leaving the city along the Murmansk highway.

Beach : sandy, gently sloping, quite roomy. There are a couple of cafes on the beach. Small forest areas along the shores of the lake are also popular.

parking : entrance directly to the lake costs 150 rubles. You can leave the car on the side of the dirt road, but then you will have to walk 500 meters or even more to the lake. Otherwise, from the parking lot to the lake - 100 meters.

Peculiarities : due to its proximity to the city, Korkinskoye Lake is very lively and not very cozy. The ecosystem cannot cope with the huge influx of tourists: in the evening, the sand on the beach is hardly visible behind the veil of cigarette butts.

7. Copper Lake, Mednozavodsky spill

Where : a beautiful reservoir in the village of the same name, two kilometers from the Sredne-Vyborgskoye highway, about 10 km from the Ring Road. Landmark - turn to Elizavetinka to the right. Do not drive past the lake: it is perfectly visible from the road.

How long to go : from 15 to 30 minutes after passing the checkpoint in Aspen Grove. Travel time depends on the size of the traffic jam in Sertolovo and in front of the Ring Road.

beach, water : sandy, small. Many tourists prefer to stay in a small forest on the shore. The water is dark red, slightly oily.

parking : a real nightmare. The terrain in the Medny area is hilly, the road winds, the shoulders are small and uneven. We have to leave the car a few hundred meters from the beach. But if you're lucky, the distance from the parking lot to the lake is 100 meters

Peculiarities : a beautiful and very comfortable pond on these hot days also cannot cope with the influx of those suffering from the heat. But in proximity to the residential areas of St. Petersburg, only Korkinskoe can be compared with Copper Lake.

Where : in Sestroretsk, 5-8 kilometers from the exit from the Ring Road in the area of ​​Primorskoye Highway. There is a swimming pest both in the Tarkhovka area (turn at the railway crossing at the monument to Lenin in Razliv), and on the wide beach in Sestroretsk itself

How long to go : from the exit from the Ring Road - no more than 10 minutes. Another question: how long will you get to one of the most remote from the city center sections of the Ring.

beach, water : The large coastline makes Spill less congested than the ponds in the neighborhood. Although the beach in the classical sense of the word is essentially one here. And he is not empty.

parking : the gentle shores of the lake make it possible to solve the problem of parking relatively quickly and successfully. From the parking lot to the lake - 15-50 meters

Peculiarities : Razliv is a lake with the best, most luxurious infrastructure - stalls, cafes and even restaurants are almost at hand.

9. Lake Khepojärvi, Lake Kavgolovskoye

Where : Popular large reservoirs in the Toksovo area. We drive along the Leningradskoe highway, turn to the main beaches, respectively, on Lesgafta street (towards Lake Kavgolovsky) or along Sanatornaya (to Hepoyarvi). There are country roads and around the lakes - passing at a distance of 100-400 meters from the coastline.

How long to go : from the ring road in the Murino area from 15 to 30 minutes. Finding a parking space can sometimes cost the same amount.

beach, water : small beaches and good, relatively clear water - a feature of both lakes. Many prefer to swim in the wooded part of the coastlines.

parking : the lakes are very popular, it is not easy to park a car near the reservoir. To put it mildly. From the parking lot to the lake - 50-150 meters

Peculiarities : Since Kavgolovskoye Lake is located 10 meters away from the railway station, not only motorists have to fight for a place under the sun. Hepojärvi - 2 km from the platform and less known. In general, the huge water spaces of both lakes are poorly used due to the scanty area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe beaches and the indented coastline. But civilization is not far away.

Where : Koltushi district, Ozerki-1 village. we are driving along the Koltushskoe highway, turning onto Lermontov Avenue (how!), and then also onto Griboyedov Avenue! Behind the first, more popular lake, there is a second one - Andronova

How long to drive from the Ring Road : without traffic jams about 30 minutes - taking into account traffic jams, the travel time may double.

beach, water : the beaches are wild, small, but cozy. Especially on the second lake.
Parking: Everyone parks their cars however they want, which makes it very difficult to park here. Again, Lake Simonovo is more popular, which means it is more difficult to park here. From the parking lot to the lake - 10-100 meters

Peculiarities : the lakes are located near a large city (Vsevolozhsk) and therefore are also a place of rest for local residents. Both are devoid of any infrastructure.