Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Leicester, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Leicester and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Leicester
- 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 Leicester:
- 42.245926, -71.908684
- 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 Leicester
- 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 Worcester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- Since Leicester is near Windham County and also Hampden County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Windham County
- eBird sighting report for Hampden 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 Leicester ...
We found three communities that share the name Leicester.
Within Massachusetts, the name Leicester is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- New York
- North Carolina
- Vermont
Curious and Interesting Names Near Leicester ...
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.
- Cherry Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
- Dodge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Greenville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Worcester County
- Heard Street
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heard Street have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard Street
- Heard Street is located in Worcester County
- Hillsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsville
- Hillsville is located in Worcester County
- Island
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Jamesville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Jamesville is located in Worcester County
- June Street
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for June Street have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for June Street
- June Street is located in Worcester County
- Lambs Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lambs Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
- Lambs Grove is located in Worcester County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Lower Wire Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Wire Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Wire Village
- Lower Wire Village is located in Worcester County
- Pondville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Salisbury Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salisbury Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Heights
- Salisbury Heights is located in Worcester County
- Texas
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - University Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- University Park is located in Worcester County
- Woodland Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
- Woodland Park is located in Worcester County
- Lower Wire Village
How Far From Leicester to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Leicester to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Leicester and extending to:
- Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies just to the East Northeast.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Leicester to Boston, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 354 miles [569.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,544 miles [8,922.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,252 miles [10,061.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,128 miles [6,643.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Leicester: www.ci.leicester.ma.us/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Leicester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Leicester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2459, Longitude: -71.9087 In this case, the coordinates for Leicester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Leicester to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.501 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.143 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.011 degrees. |