RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Southampton County >> Watkins Corner >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Watkins Corner, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Watkins Corner 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 Watkins Corner:
    • 36.667154, -76.982597
    • 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 Watkins Corner
  • 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 Southampton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Southampton County
    • Since Watkins Corner is near Franklin City and also Isle of Wight County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Isle of Wight 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 Watkins Corner

Communities Also Named Watkins Corner ...

We found two communities that are also named Watkins Corner.

There is one other community in Virginia that is also named Watkins Corner.

Beyond Virginia, there is another community also named Watkins Corner in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Virginia ...
    • Brunswick County
      • This Watkins Corner is located in Brunswick County and lies 53 miles [85.3 km]<1> to the west of the Watkins Corner that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brunswick County community of Watkins Corner.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arkansas
      • Phillips County
      • This Watkins Corner is located in Phillips County and lies 798 miles [1,284.3 km]<1> to the west of the Watkins Corner that is located in Southampton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Watkins Corner.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Watkins Corner ...

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.

  • Delaware
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Delaware is located in Southampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware
  • Delaware Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Delaware Park is located in Southampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware Park
  • Franklin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Gum
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Gum is located in Southampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum
  • Hunterdale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Isaac
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Isaac is located in Southampton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaac
  • Kingsdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lees Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Lees Mill is located in Isle of Wight County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Mill
  • Sunbeam
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Courtland, which is the Seat of Southampton County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 65 miles [104.6 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could walk a straight line from Watkins Corner to Richmond, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 154 miles [247.8 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 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,990 miles [9,640 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,685 miles [10,758.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,566 miles [7,348.3 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Watkins Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Watkins Corner 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 Watkins Corner. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.6672, Longitude: -76.9826    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.978 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.20 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.524 degrees.