From central Bradford, the Qibla is 119.3° from true north, towards the east-southeast. This is the starting heading of the shortest route over the globe to the Kaaba in Makkah. If you are elsewhere in the Bradford district, set your own location, coordinates or map point in the finder to get the bearing for the place where you are.
Why 119° and 135° can appear for Bradford
Both figures can be calculated from the same central Bradford point, measured clockwise from true north towards the same Kaaba reference. They differ because they describe two different routes.
- Initial great-circle bearing: 119.3° true. This is the starting heading of the shortest route over the globe. It points east-southeast, about 29.3° south of due east, over a spherical surface distance of about 5,013 km. This is the result the finder gives.
- Constant-heading rhumb line: about 135.4° true. A rhumb route holds one true heading the whole way, here roughly south-east. On the same sphere it is longer, about 5,058 km.
On a Mercator map, a straight line keeps the same true heading from start to finish, so it traces the 135.4° rhumb route. The shortest route from Bradford leaves at 119.3° instead and appears curved on that map. Google’s Qibla Finder help also describes how a great-circle route can look curved on a flat map.
The gap of about 16° is a difference of route, not of GPS accuracy, rounding or magnetic correction. A figure near 135° for Bradford matches the constant-heading route. For the finder’s initial shortest-route direction, use 119.3°. The guide why Qibla routes curve on maps explains projections in more detail, and the methodology page sets out the model.
Set your point in Bradford, West Yorkshire
This page starts from 53.7923, -1.7533, an approximate reference point for central Bradford near City Hall and Centenary Square.
The name Bradford also covers a wider metropolitan district. The council describes Keighley and Ilkley as one area within that district, which takes in several towns and villages. Places across the district each have their own bearing, so for a home, hotel or workplace away from the city centre, set that place as your point:
- Choose Use my location if you want the device to provide a fix. This is optional, and the result calculates automatically.
- Choose Enter coordinates instead, type the Latitude first and the Longitude second, then press Find my Qibla. Longitudes west of Greenwich are negative, so any Bradford longitude starts with a minus sign.
- Choose Open map, pan until your place is in the centre, then press Use map centre. Panning alone does not change the origin.
Press Use the city centre again to return to this page’s Bradford reference. Search city presets finds named cities only and does not look up streets or postcodes. You can browse the city list to see which places have their own page, and the guide city preset or current location helps you decide which point to use.
Compare the local direction and match north
The diagram above compares two fixed city references. Central Bradford is at 119.3° and central Manchester is at 118.5°. Both are initial great-circle bearings from true north, and both point east-southeast. The difference of about 0.8° comes from the different starting points, so there is no single Qibla angle for the whole UK. Birmingham and London each have their own figures, so use the one for your own point.
To transfer the direction to where you stand, open the map. Nearby draws up to 3 km of the initial route from your point on a north-up map, so you can line it up with roads, buildings or other features you can see around you. Full route shows the whole path in global context. A north-up screen does not orient the phone itself, so match the line to real features or to a reliable north reference.
With a compass already set to true north, use 119.3° unchanged. An unadjusted magnetic dial needs one correction for the current local declination, which you can look up with NOAA’s declination calculator. The magnetic compass question below gives the rule. Enable live compass is optional. On supported devices it applies its built-in correction once, so do not adjust the bearing again. Hold the phone nearly level in portrait, because guidance pauses if you tilt it more than about 5°, and press Stop compass when you have finished.
The guide to using a separate compass walks through the correction step. The north reference notes explain true and magnetic north. If live guidance does not start, see Qibla compass not working.
Keep a city reference or your own location
The reference panel and the card from Download reference card stay fixed at the Bradford city reference. The comparison diagram stays fixed at the Bradford and Manchester references. None of these change when you set another point in the finder, so use them when the city-centre figure is what you want to keep. For your own point, use one of these options:
- Printable reference prints the finder’s active point, including its coordinates even when the QR code is off. Adding a coordinate QR code needs a separate confirmation.
- Share city creates a link to the city and country currently selected from the presets. It is unavailable for a device, manual or map point until you choose a preset again.
- Share location shows a preview of the active point first. Create coordinate link then makes a link containing its coordinates, its label and any positive position uncertainty attached to it.
A link you have already copied does not update. It keeps the point it was created with. Before sending one, check what it reveals in the sharing privacy notes.