Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Doncaster, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Doncaster and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Doncaster
- 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 Doncaster:
- 38.486596, -77.205256
- 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 Doncaster
- 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 Charles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Charles County
- Since Doncaster is near Prince William County and also Stafford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Prince William County
- eBird sighting report for Stafford 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 Doncaster ...
We found three communities that share the name Doncaster.
There is one other community in Maryland which is also named Doncaster.
Beyond Maryland, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other two communities are located in Canada.
- Communities Located In Maryland ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Doncaster ...
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.
- Chamberlain Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chamberlain Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamberlain Village
- Chamberlain Village is located in Prince William County (VA)
- Cherry Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Hill
- Cherry Hill is located in Prince William County (VA)
- Cooks Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Ferry
- Cooks Ferry is located in Charles County
- Hickory Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hill
- Hickory Hill is located in Charles County
- Hill Top
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Holly Haven
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Haven
- Holly Haven is located in Charles County
- Ironsides
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Jones View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jones View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones View
- Jones View is located in Charles County
- Liverpool Wharf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liverpool Wharf have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool Wharf
- Liverpool Wharf is located in Charles County
- Marshope
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Mount Hope
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Charles County
- Redhill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Widewater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
How Far From Doncaster 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 Doncaster to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Doncaster and extending to:
- La Plata, which is the Seat of Charles County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<4> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Doncaster to La Plata, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 51 miles [82.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 29 miles [46.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,922 miles [9,530.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,626 miles [10,663.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,503 miles [7,246.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Doncaster. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Charles County: www.charlescounty.org/
The official website for State of Maryland: www.maryland.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Doncaster, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Doncaster 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Doncaster) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Doncaster. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4866, Longitude: -77.2053 In this case, the coordinates for Doncaster have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Doncaster to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.013 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.517 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.941 degrees. |