Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bells Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bells Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bells Valley
- 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 Bells Valley:
- 38.027628, -79.448652
- 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 Bells Valley
- 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 Rockbridge County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Rockbridge County
- Since Bells Valley is near Augusta County and also Bath County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Augusta County
- eBird sighting report for Bath 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bells Valley ...
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.
- California
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for California have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
- California is located in Rockbridge County
- Cedar Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- 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 Rockbridge County
- Craigsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigsville
- Craigsville is located in Augusta County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craigsville <2>
- Fordwick
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Fredericksburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Fredericksburg is located in Rockbridge County
- Green Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Bath County
- Little Baltimore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Baltimore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Baltimore
- Little Baltimore is located in Augusta County
- Marble Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Marble Valley is located in Augusta County
- McNutt ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Pond Gap ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Stony Run
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Sycamore Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Valley
- Sycamore Valley is located in Rockbridge County
- Zack
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
How Far From Bells Valley 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 Bells Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Bells Valley and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 114 miles [183.5 km]<3> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Bells Valley to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 143 miles [230.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,037 miles [9,715.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,744 miles [10,853.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,621 miles [7,436.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bells Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Rockbridge County: www.co.rockbridge.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bells Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bells Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0276, Longitude: -79.4487 In this case, the coordinates for Bells Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bells Valley 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 309.359 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.979 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.043 degrees. |