Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Colchester Acres, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Colchester Acres and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Colchester Acres
- 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 Colchester Acres:
- 38.813447, -77.372764
- 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 Colchester Acres
- 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 Fairfax County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
- Since Colchester Acres is near Fairfax City and also Prince William County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fairfax City
- eBird sighting report for Prince William 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 Colchester Acres ...
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.
- Blue Oaks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Butts Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butts Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butts Corner
- Butts Corner is located in Fairfax County
- Crystal Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
- Crystal Springs is located in Fairfax County
- Donovans Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donovans Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donovans Corner
- Donovans Corner is located in Fairfax County
- Fair Oaks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Green Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Fairfax City
- Holly Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Park
- Holly Park is located in Fairfax County
- Joyce Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joyce Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce Heights
- Joyce Heights is located in Fairfax City
- Lee-Hi Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lee-Hi Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee-Hi Village
- Lee-Hi Village is located in Fairfax County
- Lewis Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewis Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis Park
- Lewis Park is located in Fairfax County
- Lincoln Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
- Lincoln Park is located in Fairfax County
- London Towne
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for London Towne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London Towne
- London Towne is located in Fairfax County
- Continue List (9 more) ...
- Maple Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hills
- Maple Hills is located in Fairfax City
- Orchard Bridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Bridge
- Orchard Bridge is located in Fairfax County
- Random Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Hills
- Random Hills is located in Fairfax County
- Sideburn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Station Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Station Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Station Hills
- Station Hills is located in Fairfax County
- Uniontown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Willow Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Fairfax County
- Yorkshire
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Yorkshire Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yorkshire Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire Village
- Yorkshire Village is located in Prince William County
- Maple Hills
How Far From Colchester Acres 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 Colchester Acres to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Colchester Acres and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 87 miles [140 km]<2> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Colchester Acres to Richmond, with an average speed<3>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 18 miles [29 km] to the east northeast (ENE). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take just over a day.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,915 miles [9,519.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,621 miles [10,655.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,498 miles [7,238.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Colchester Acres. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Fairfax County: www.co.fairfax.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> | 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- Colchester Acres) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colchester Acres. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8134, Longitude: -77.3728 In this case, the coordinates for Colchester Acres have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Colchester Acres to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.093 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.657 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.887 degrees. |