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.
- 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:
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
- 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:
- Waymark.com
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)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgetown
- Bridgetown is located in Lancaster County
- Fairplay
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Lively
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lively have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lively
- Lively is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lively <2>
- Moon Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moon Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Corner
- Moon Corner is located in Richmond County
- Mulch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Nesting
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nesting. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesting
- Nesting is located in Middlesex County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Nesting
- From Downings to Nesting
- Nuttsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nuttsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nuttsville
- Nuttsville is located in Lancaster County
- Pierces Corner
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierces Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierces Corner
- Pierces Corner is located in Lancaster County
- Rainswood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rainswood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainswood
- Rainswood is located in Northumberland County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Rainswood
- From Downings to Rainswood
- Tidewater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Wildwood Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Beach
- Wildwood Beach is located in Essex County
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<4> beginning in Downings and extending to:
- Warsaw, which is the Seat of Richmond County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<4> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Downings to Warsaw, with an average speed<5> 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<6> 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).<7>
- 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).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,503 miles [7,246.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Downings. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Richmond County: www.co.richmond.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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Downings) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downings. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8445, Longitude: -76.6233 |
| <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 Downings 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 307.712 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.075 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.946 degrees. |