Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Swansea, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Swansea and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Swansea
- 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 Swansea:
- 33.738388, -81.100104
- 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 Swansea
- 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 Lexington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lexington County
- Since Swansea is near Orangeburg County and also Calhoun County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Orangeburg County
- eBird sighting report for Calhoun 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 Swansea ...
We found ten communities that share the name Swansea.
Within South Carolina, the name Swansea is unique.
Beyond South Carolina, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, seven are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arizona
- British Columbia
- This Swansea lies 2,069 miles [3,329.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Swansea that is located in Lexington County.
- California
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Ontario
- This Swansea lies 688 miles [1,107.2 km]<2> to the north of the Swansea that is located in Lexington County.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Swansea ...
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.
- Apollo Gardens
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apollo Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo Gardens
- Apollo Gardens is located in Lexington County
- Berlin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Crystal View
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal View have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal View
- Crystal View is located in Lexington County
- Glenn Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
- Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
- Lloydswoods
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lloydswoods have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydswoods
- Lloydswoods is located in Lexington County
- Oak Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Pineridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
- Pineridge is located in Lexington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Pineridge
- From Swansea to Pineridge
- Sandy Run
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Sharpes Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharpes Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpes Hill
- Sharpes Hill is located in Lexington County
- Silver Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in Lexington County
- Styx ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Thor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
How Far From Swansea 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 town such as Swansea to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Swansea and extending to:
- Lexington, which is the Seat of Lexington County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Swansea to Lexington, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 18 miles [29 km] to the north (N). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 421 miles [677.5 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 17 days and walking would take 24 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,298 miles [10,135.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,990 miles [11,249.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,873 miles [7,842.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Swansea: www.ci.swansea.sc.us/
The official website for Lexington County: www.lex-co.com/
The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.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 Swansea, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Swansea) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Swansea. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7384, Longitude: -81.1001 |
| <3> | 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 Swansea 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Swansea 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 310.356 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.492 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.03 degrees. |