Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Blandford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Blandford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Blandford
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Blandford:
- 42.180646, -72.927322
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Blandford
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Hampden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hampden County
- Since Blandford is near Hampshire County and also Berkshire County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hampshire County
- eBird sighting report for Berkshire County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Blandford ...
We found five communities that share the name Blandford.
Within Massachusetts, the name Blandford is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, three are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Nova Scotia
- This Blandford lies 470 miles [756.4 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Blandford that is located in Hampden County.
- Ontario
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Blandford ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Chester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Cold Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Cold Spring is located in Berkshire County
- Crescent Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Mills
- Crescent Mills is located in Hampden County
- Dayville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Knightville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knightville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
- Knightville is located in Hampshire County
- Littleville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Littleville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Littleville is located in Hampden County
- Roosterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roosterville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roosterville
- Roosterville is located in Berkshire County
- Skyland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Trainfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trainfield
- Trainfield is located in Hampden County
How Far From Blandford to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Blandford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Blandford and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the Seat of Hampden County, lies 17 miles [27.4 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Blandford to Springfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 96 miles [154.5 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 312 miles [502.1 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,589 miles [8,994.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,299 miles [10,137.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,175 miles [6,719 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Blandford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blandford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Blandford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1806, Longitude: -72.9273 In this case, the coordinates for Blandford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Blandford could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Blandford to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.123 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.833 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.502 degrees. |