RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Montgomery County >> Ashbourne >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Ashbourne, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ashbourne 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 Ashbourne:
    • 40.067611, -75.130175
    • 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 Ashbourne
  • 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ashbourne ...

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.

  • Branchtown ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchtown
    • Branchtown is located in Philadelphia County
  • Cedar Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
    • Cedar Grove is located in Philadelphia County
  • Cedarbrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarbrook
    • Cedarbrook is located in Montgomery County
  • Coventry House
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry House have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry House
    • Coventry House is located in Montgomery County
  • Crescentville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescentville
    • Crescentville is located in Philadelphia County
  • Fern Rock
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Rock
    • Fern Rock is located in Philadelphia County
  • Fern Rock Station ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Rock Station
    • Fern Rock Station is located in Philadelphia County
  • Fishers
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishers
    • Fishers is located in Philadelphia County
  • Fox Chase
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Chase have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Chase
    • Fox Chase is located in Philadelphia County
  • Ivy Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivy Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy Hill
    • Ivy Hill is located in Philadelphia County
  • Jenkintown
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Kennedy House
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennedy House have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy House
    • Kennedy House is located in Montgomery County
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Lawn Crest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawn Crest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawn Crest
      • Lawn Crest is located in Philadelphia County
    • Lawncrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawncrest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawncrest
      • Lawncrest is located in Philadelphia County
    • Lawndale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawndale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
      • Lawndale is located in Philadelphia County
    • Mermaid
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mermaid have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mermaid
      • Mermaid is located in Philadelphia County
    • Milestown ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milestown
      • Milestown is located in Philadelphia County
    • Mount Pleasant
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Philadelphia County
    • Noble
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Noble. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noble
      • Noble is located in Montgomery County
    • Oak Lane
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Lane
      • Oak Lane is located in Montgomery County
    • Oaklane
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oaklane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklane
      • Oaklane is located in Montgomery County
    • Rockledge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Volunteertown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Volunteertown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volunteertown
      • Volunteertown is located in Philadelphia County

How Far From Ashbourne 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 Ashbourne to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Ashbourne and extending to:

  • Norristown, which is the Seat of Montgomery County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ashbourne to Norristown, 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.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 93 miles [149.7 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 129 miles [207.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,768 miles [9,282.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,473 miles [10,417.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,350 miles [7,000.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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- Ashbourne) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ashbourne. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0676, Longitude: -75.1302       In this case, the coordinates for Ashbourne 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 Ashbourne 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 306.673 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.241 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.431 degrees.