RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Buncombe County >> Leicester >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

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 ...
  • 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:
    • 35.655107, -82.696244
    • 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.
    • Open 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 Buncombe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Buncombe County
    • Since Leicester is near Madison County and also Haywood County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Madison County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Haywood 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Leicester

Communities Also Named Leicester ...

We found three communities that are also named Leicester.

Within North Carolina, the name Leicester is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of three communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Massachusetts
      • Worcester County
      • This Leicester is located in Worcester County and lies 735 miles [1,182.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Leicester that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Worcester County community of Leicester.
    • New York
      • Livingston County
      • This Leicester is located in Livingston County and lies 554 miles [891.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Leicester that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Leicester.
    • Vermont
      • Addison County
      • This Leicester is located in Addison County and lies 760 miles [1,223.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Leicester that is located in Buncombe County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Addison County community of Leicester.

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.

  • Camelot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Camelot is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot
  • Craggy
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Craggy is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craggy
  • Echo Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Echo Hills is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hills
  • Elk Mountain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Elk Mountain is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mountain
  • Emma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Emma is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
  • Georgetown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgetown is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
  • Hazel Green
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hazel Green is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Green
  • Hominy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hominy is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hominy
  • Jugtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jugtown is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jugtown
  • Juno
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Juno is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juno
  • Murphy Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Murphy Junction is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Junction
  • Newfound
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Newfound is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newfound
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Owltown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Owltown is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owltown
    • Sand Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sand Hill is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hill
    • Sandymush
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Sandymush is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandymush
      • Sandymush has also been known as:
      • Sandy Mush
    • Stoney Knob
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Stoney Knob is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Knob
    • Sulphur Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sulphur Springs is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
    • Woodside Hills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Woodside Hills is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Hills

How Far From Leicester to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs 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:

  • Asheville, which is the Seat of Buncombe County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Leicester to Asheville, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 227 miles [365.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 383 miles [616.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,280 miles [10,106.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,985 miles [11,241.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,862 miles [7,824.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' 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. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Leicester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.6551, Longitude: -82.6962       In this case, the coordinates for Leicester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.308 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.861 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.118 degrees.