Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Downings, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downings and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Downings

• 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 Downings:
  • 37.844547, -76.623290
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Downings

• 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 Richmond County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Richmond County
  • Since Downings is near Lancaster County and also Northumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Northumberland 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Downings

Curious and Interesting Names Near Downings ...

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.

• Bridgetown ‑ Historic
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Bridgetown is located in Lancaster County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
• Fairplay
  (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Fairplay is located in Richmond County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay
• Lively
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lively is located in Lancaster County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lively
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lively <1>
• Moon Corner
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Moon Corner is located in Richmond County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Corner
• Mulch
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mulch is located in Richmond County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulch
• Nesting
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Nesting is located in Middlesex County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesting
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Nesting
  • From Downings to Nesting
• Nuttsville
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Nuttsville is located in Lancaster County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nuttsville
• Pierces Corner
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pierces Corner is located in Lancaster County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierces Corner
• Rainswood
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rainswood is located in Northumberland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainswood
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Rainswood
  • From Downings to Rainswood
• Tidewater
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Tidewater is located in Richmond County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidewater
• Village
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Village is located in Northumberland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village
• Wildwood Beach
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Wildwood Beach is located in Essex County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Beach

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Downings and extending to:

• Warsaw, which is the Seat of Richmond County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Downings to Warsaw, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 49 miles [78.9 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 76 miles [122.3 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,924 miles [9,533.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,624 miles [10,660.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,503 miles [7,246.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'