PHOTOGRAPHY: © LORD ASHCROFT; REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; GETTY IMAGES
Above: the 50m Hakvoort on which
Lord Ashcroft cruised the 869 miles
from St Petersburg to Arkhangelsk
Below: Arkhangelsk, with its statue
of Lenin, lies at the mouth of the
Northern Dvina RiverForsome,cruisingmeansrarelyleavingtheCaribbeanorthe
Mediterranean.Iwouldratherventureintotheunknown
but challenging as Igor yet again had to guide us along the narrow
channels, with tricky currents, that lie between the countless islands.
At 4pm, as we approached the island of Kizhi, lying at the geometrical
centre of Lake Onega, the horizon was dominated by vast 18th
century wooden church structures.
I toured the island and learnt that the Kizhi Pogost was created
by expert carpenters using Scots pine and was built with perfectly
fitting joints and is therefore devoid of nails. The location, which
includes two churches and an octagonal bell tower, is part of
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Since the 1950s a large number of historical wooden buildings
have been transported to the island, including the Church of the
Resurrection of Lazarus, which is regarded as the oldest remaining
wooden church in Russia and dates back to the 14th century. Indeed,
the whole island of Kizhi gave of a strong vibe of religious reverence.
We left Kizhi at 1.20pm on our sixth day. Our destination was the
town of Povenets, 100 miles away, which lies at the mouth of the
White Sea-Baltic Canal, or Belomor Canal. We arrived at Povenets
shortly after 6pm and the next day I went ashore to meet the director
of the canal, who invited me to see a museum detailing the canal’s
history and then to go to his home to meet his wife.
The canal was built primarily across a vast forest to give Russian
warships and submarines access to the White Sea from Lake Onega
(which is, in turn, connected to the Baltic Sea). Of its 141 miles,