2026-09-08
Qibla Direction in the UK: 119 Degrees from London
From anywhere in the United Kingdom the qibla points east-southeast, and the angle changes remarkably little from one end of the country to the other. London is 119 degrees from true north, Glasgow 118 — a single degree apart across six hundred kilometres. Understanding why explains a lot about how the qibla works.
The definition
The qibla is the initial bearing of the shortest path over the Earth's surface — the great circle — from your position to the Kaaba at 21.4225 degrees north, 39.8262 degrees east. It is expressed as an angle measured clockwise from true north, where 90 degrees is due east and 180 is due south. An east-southeast bearing of 119 degrees therefore means roughly 29 degrees south of due east.
The angles for British cities
Belfast 115 degrees, Cardiff 116, Birmingham 118, Manchester 118, Glasgow 118, London 119, Bradford 119, Leicester 119 and Edinburgh 120. The whole country fits inside a six-degree range. For comparison, Germany alone spans from 125 degrees in Zurich to 137 in Berlin.
Why Britain varies so little
Two reasons. First, the country is narrow in longitude — from Norwich to Belfast is under seven degrees, and longitude is what moves the qibla bearing most at these latitudes. Second, Britain is a long way from Mecca, roughly five thousand kilometres, and at that range a shift of a few hundred kilometres in your position changes the bearing only slightly. Countries closer to Mecca see far bigger swings across short distances.
How far is the Kaaba?
Along the great circle: London 4,794 kilometres, Leicester 4,915, Birmingham 4,952, Cardiff 4,980, Bradford 5,014, Manchester 5,025, Edinburgh 5,211, Glasgow 5,264 and Belfast 5,296. Britain is roughly a thousand kilometres further from Mecca than Germany.
Getting from the number to the direction
The calculated angle is measured from true north, but a compass points at magnetic north. In the United Kingdom the magnetic declination is currently small — around one to three degrees west in most of the country, larger in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. That is a much smaller correction than in North America, but it is still worth applying. Every city page gives the reading to use on an ordinary magnetic compass alongside the true bearing.
How precise does it need to be?
In the classical legal literature, someone who cannot see the Kaaba is required to face its general direction — jihah in Arabic — and small deviations do not, on that view, invalidate the prayer. The sensible aim is still the most accurate direction available. A calibrated phone is usually good to about five degrees, which over five thousand kilometres is ample.