How to find out what way a garden faces

Rileybaby

Does anyone have a link?

Davesnave

Look at it on Google Maps or Bing???

Haven't found one yet that's defied this, and I've seen a few thousand.

forgotmyname

Take a compass? Look at the sun?

Rileybaby

Davesnave wrote: »

Look at it on Google Maps or Bing???

Haven't found one yet that's defied this, and I've seen a few thousand.

Sorry I might be being thick but I can't see what you mean

Davesnave

Rileybaby wrote: »

Sorry I might be being thick but I can't see what you mean

Well, the maps are always presented by default with the top to the north, although some urban ones are rotatable in satellite view.

So, if you can see the garden, you can work it out.

DaftyDuck

I assume you are talking about your own garden, the one you are sticking decking in to enjoy in Summer....

Um, on a sunny day at midday GMT, the sun will be directly south... We are using BST at the moment, so Spring Forward Fall Back... that's 1pm ...

In this day and age, everybody except me has a smartphone. I believe they all have an app for that messy business of looking up into the sky...

Car Sat Nav? Drive through the house, park on the lawn, and then move slowly south according to the satnav. Do mind the pond.

We were trained that moss only grows on the North side of trees. Scouts, not SAS, which is a good job too, as it's not true!

Use your astronomical knowledge, and find the Polar Star! There's an app for that too, or you can just find the Plough (not the pub), and look for the two stars labelled Merak and Dubhe, and head along that line for six times as far, to find the Pole Star. That's the North Pole (vaguely), so you'll need to turn 180° for south (and there's bound to be an app for that too....)

Dave's right it will be online on Bing and Google, but how about investing in a lovely old paper Ordnance Survey map and a compass, and then set about surveying your garden.

If you float a needle on water (and this is fun), it will find North. Hit a steel sewing needle (doesn't need to be hard) with a hammer. Fill a bowl with water. Stick a small piece of blotting paper on the water (Olde Worlde stuff, but ordinary newspaper will do it) and pop the needle on it. The paper will slowly sink, the needle will float, and will slowly point North/South! Magick! Alchemy!

You can do it with a wristwatch too, at any time of day. Well, so long as you have a wristwatch with hands (or can draw hands on a piece of paper, and wait for the approptiate time to arrive, or even draw them out at the correct (ish) time (realising this is a one-shot-a-day-diagram). Then, point the hour hand at the sun, and draw a line between that and the midday mark. Halfway between those two is South. Again, recite your SF-FB ditty to correct.

Farway

There is also in Google maps a facility to show sunshine across the map for any time of day, could help if important

Rileybaby

Thanks a Faraway & others it's NW facing. Help very much appreciated

Davesnave

Farway wrote: »

There is also in Google maps a facility to show sunshine across the map for any time of day, could help if important

But beware, because other people's houses and trees etc may impact on that and cast some shadow.

For example, my nice side patio at my old house would have been perfect for an evening barbecue without my next door neighbour's house in the way of the setting sun.

Primrose

Where does the sun rise in the morning? Does the morning sun shine theiugh the bedroom windows at the back of your house I(in which case your back garden faces east) or through the bedroom windows at the front of the house (in which case the front faces west.). Anything in between will obviously be north or south.

[Deleted User]

Download the compass app??