Qibla · England
Qibla direction in Woking
To face the Kaaba in Woking, turn to 118.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-east (28.3° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,810 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Woking should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 118.3°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 118°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Woking
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 28.3° towards south: the result is the bearing of 118.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 28° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Woking to Mecca points to 133.3° (south-east), 15.0° away from the correct 118.3°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 38 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 51.3190° N, 0.5589° W to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Woking to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,810 km from Woking as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,527 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 10 min, although most pilgrims from Woking connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Woking run 3 hours behind Mecca in winter and 2 hours behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Woking rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Woking
On 264 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Woking while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 February 2027 it happens at 08:01 local time.
On 61 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in June (30 days), for instance on 1 June 2027 at 20:17.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 08:01 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 08:13 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:24 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 09:37 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:47 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:59 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:09 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:20 | 20:17 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:27 | 20:15 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:30 | 20:20 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:27 | 20:27 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:17 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:03 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:43 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 09:24 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:02 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 08:44 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 07:25 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Woking: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Woking compared with other cities
Compared with London, England, United Kingdom, 37 km away, the Qibla in Woking is turned 0.7° further anticlockwise (118.3° against 119.0°), and Mecca is 16 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Slough (21 km), prays towards 118.5°, a difference of 0.1°.
Across the 75 cities in the United Kingdom on this site, the Qibla ranges from 113.7° in Plymouth, England, United Kingdom to 121.7° in Aberdeen, a spread of 8.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for United Kingdom.
Qibla in cities near Woking
Qibla in Woking: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Woking?
It is 118.3° from true north, which is south-east: 28.3° south of east.
How far is Woking from Mecca?
4,810 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,527 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Woking?
On 264 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Woking not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 133.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Woking at 118.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 118.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.