Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Islay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Islay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Islay
- 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 Islay:
- 34.624046, -79.727283
- 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 Islay
- 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 Marlboro County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Marlboro County
- Since Islay is near Chesterfield County and also Darlington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Chesterfield County
- eBird sighting report for Darlington 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 Islay ...
We found three communities that share the name Islay.
Within South Carolina, the name Islay is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, one is located in the United States and the other two communities are located in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Islay ...
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.
- Beauty Spot ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beauty Spot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty Spot
- Beauty Spot is located in Marlboro County
- Burnt Factory ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnt Factory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Factory
- Burnt Factory is located in Marlboro County
- Everetts ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Grace Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Heights
- Grace Heights is located in Marlboro County
- Lester
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Quick Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quick Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick Crossroads
- Quick Crossroads is located in Marlboro County
- Sunnybrook Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnybrook Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnybrook Heights
- Sunnybrook Heights is located in Marlboro County
- Welsh Neck ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welsh Neck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh Neck
- Welsh Neck is located in Marlboro County
How Far From Islay 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 Islay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<3> community of Islay once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Islay and extending to:
- Bennettsville, which is the Seat of Marlboro County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 86 miles [138.4 km]<1> to the west southwest (WSW). If you could drive a straight line from Islay to Columbia, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 330 miles [531.1 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,198 miles [9,974.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,891 miles [11,090 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,773 miles [7,681.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Marlboro County: www.marlborocounty.sc.gov/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.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 from Point A (ie- Islay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Islay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6240, Longitude: -79.7273 In this case, the coordinates for Islay 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> | 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 Islay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Islay 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 309.584 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.734 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.256 degrees. |