RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Surry County >> Runnymede >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Runnymede, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Runnymede 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 Runnymede:
    • 37.034594, -76.851349
    • 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 Runnymede
  • 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 Surry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Surry County
    • Since Runnymede is near Isle of Wight County and also Southampton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Isle of Wight County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Southampton 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 Runnymede

Communities Also Named Runnymede ...

We found eleven communities that are also named Runnymede.

There are two communities within Virginia that are also named Runnymede.

Beyond Virginia, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these nine communities, eight are located in the United States and three are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Chesterfield County
      • This Runnymede is located in Chesterfield County and lies 50 miles [80.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chesterfield County community of Runnymede.
    • Roanoke City
      • This Runnymede is located in Roanoke City and lies 173 miles [278.4 km]<1> to the west of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke City community of Runnymede.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Florida
      • Osceola County
      • This Runnymede is located in Osceola County and lies 655 miles [1,054.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osceola County community of Runnymede.
    • Indiana
      • LaPorte County
      • This Runnymede is located in LaPorte County and lies 610 miles [981.7 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaPorte County community of Runnymede.
    • Kansas
      • Harper County
      • This Runnymede is located in Harper County and lies 1,157 miles [1,862 km]<1> to the west of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harper County community of Runnymede.
    • Mississippi
      • Leflore County
      • This Runnymede is located in Leflore County and lies 796 miles [1,281 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leflore County community of Runnymede.
    • Ohio
      • Butler County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Runnymede [Butler County].
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Runnymede.
    • Quebec
      • This Runnymede lies 902 miles [1,451.6 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Runnymede lies 1,569 miles [2,525.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
    • South Carolina
      • Charleston County
      • This Runnymede is located in Charleston County and lies 340 miles [547.2 km]<1> to the southwest of the Runnymede that is located in Surry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Charleston County community of Runnymede.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Runnymede ...

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.

  • Alliance
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Alliance is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alliance
  • Berrymans Corner
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Berrymans Corner is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrymans Corner
  • Booth Fork
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Booth Fork is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booth Fork
  • California Crossroads
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Comet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Comet is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
  • Highgate
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Highgate is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgate
  • Lazy Oak Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lazy Oak Corner is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lazy Oak Corner
  • Moonlight
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Moonlight is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moonlight
  • Moorings
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Moorings is located in Surry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorings
  • Sycamore Crossroads
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Sycamore Crossroads is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Crossroads

How Far From Runnymede to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Runnymede to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Runnymede and extending to:

  • Surry, which is the Seat of Surry County, lies just to the North.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 47 miles [75.6 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Runnymede to Richmond, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 129 miles [207.6 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,968 miles [9,604.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,665 miles [10,726.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,545 miles [7,314.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Runnymede) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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 Runnymede 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.
<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 Runnymede 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 Runnymede. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0346, Longitude: -76.8513       In this case, the coordinates for Runnymede have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.886 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.15 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.339 degrees.