Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Irving, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Irving and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Irving
- 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 Irving:
- 37.358750, -79.670591
- 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 Irving
- 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 Bedford County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bedford County
- Since Irving is near Botetourt County and also Bedford City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Botetourt County
- eBird sighting report for Bedford City
- 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 Irving ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Irving.
Within Virginia, the name Irving is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Irving ...
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.
- Big Otter Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Otter Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Otter Mill
- Big Otter Mill is located in Bedford County
- Centerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Centerville is located in Bedford County
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coonsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Five Forks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Bedford County
- Flint Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flint Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
- Flint Hill is located in Bedford County
- Heatherstone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heatherstone have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherstone
- Heatherstone is located in Botetourt County
- Joppa Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Lynchburg Mines ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynchburg Mines have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg Mines
- Lynchburg Mines is located in Botetourt County
- Peaksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peaksville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Rocky Ford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ford
- Rocky Ford is located in Bedford County
- Shady Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Bedford County
- Stepping Stone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stepping Stone have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stepping Stone
- Stepping Stone is located in Botetourt County
- Union
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
How Far From Irving 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 Irving to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Irving and extending to:
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Irving to Richmond, with an average speed<5>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 178 miles [286.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,075 miles [9,776.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,780 miles [10,911.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,658 miles [7,496.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Irving. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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 Irving, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Irving) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Irving. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3588, Longitude: -79.6706 In this case, the coordinates for Irving have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Irving 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 Irving 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 309.51 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.052 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.362 degrees. |