RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Hanover County >> Old Cold Harbor >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Old Cold Harbor:
    • 37.590978, -77.270533
    • 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 Old Cold Harbor
  • 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 Hanover County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hanover County
    • Since Old Cold Harbor is near Henrico County and also New Kent County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henrico County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for New Kent 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 Old Cold Harbor

Curious and Interesting Names Near Old Cold Harbor ...

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.

  • Cherrydale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cherrydale is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrydale
  • Cold Harbor Farms
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cold Harbor Farms is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Harbor Farms
  • Dogwood Knoll
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dogwood Knoll is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Knoll
  • Fair Oaks
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fair Oaks is located in Henrico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Oaks
  • Green Meadows
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Green Meadows is located in Henrico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Meadows
  • Hughes Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Hughes Corner is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Corner
  • Kirbytown
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Kirbytown is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbytown
  • Orchard Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Orchard Gardens is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Gardens
  • Raven Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Raven Run is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Run
  • Sandston Highland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandston Highland is located in Henrico County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandston Highland
  • Spring Meadows
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Spring Meadows is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadows
  • Valley Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Valley Oaks is located in Hanover County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Oaks
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Walnut Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Wicker Corner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wicker Corner is located in Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wicker Corner
    • Woodlawn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodlawn is located in Hanover County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Woodlawn Terrace
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Woodlawn Terrace is located in Henrico County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Terrace

How Far From Old Cold Harbor 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 Old Cold Harbor to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Old Cold Harbor and extending to:

  • Hanover, which is the Seat of Hanover County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Old Cold Harbor to Hanover, with an average speed<2> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 9 miles [14.5 km] to the west southwest (WSW). The buggy would take a little over three hours and walking would take four to five hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 91 miles [146.5 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,963 miles [9,596.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,663 miles [10,723.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,542 miles [7,309.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Old Cold Harbor) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Old Cold Harbor to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old Cold Harbor. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5910, Longitude: -77.2705       In this case, the coordinates for Old Cold Harbor have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.10 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.478 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.302 degrees.