Acoustic DXing?

This morning I awoke early and could hear a distant church bell tolling at 6am. It could not be heard at 7am. Acoustic conditions must have been perfect - quiet, maybe a mist? The nearest church other than our local church is 2 miles away. It could have been from much further away. The sound was heard in bed and came from the west I think.

In WW1 the guns on the front in France could sometimes be heard in England over 100 miles away.