Amarillo to Lubbock via Hereford. 156 miles. 28th October 2025.
A few days ago when we were in a museum shop in Lubbock looking at Hereford bull toys, I happened to mention that I came from Hereford. The assistant in the shop expressed surprise as her boss comes from Hereford and my accent was entirely different. The penny finally dropped that I came from Hereford in England and he came from Hereford in Texas. Looking at our route from Amarillo today we could see that a short diversion could take us through Hereford, so it had to be done.
Hereford Texas is known as “The Beef Capital of the World” and as we approached the outskirts you could smell the reason for the name. We passed several large corrals of literally hundreds of beef cattle and the odour that accompanied them. Our first impressions of the city were not good as virtually all the shops were closed or very run down.
As a result we decided to move onto Lubbock, as normal I made a wrong turn and ended up in front of the county courthouse, a much better sight.
Across the road from the courthouse was a lovely little museum, the Deaf Smith County Historical Museum. A couple of volunteers welcomed us in and were intrigued when I told them my story and Sylvia showed pictures of Hereford Cathedral. The museum highlighted the pioneer days in Texas and the origins of the city in the late 1890s when the Santa Fe railroad expanded in the region.
Some lovely exhibits inside and out in the yard were displays of farm equipment and a railroad carriage.
A throughly enjoyable visit and we left Hereford Texas with a much better impression than we had when we arrived.
We took a back route to Lubbock avoiding all the main roads, passing through farm lands with arable crops, cotton and again many many cattle. A long straight road for the main part and as usual very little traffic.
One of the sights that we had missed when we were first in Lubbock was Prairie Dog Town, so we decided to visit before going to the hotel. Originally the prairie dogs were a pest and moves were made to control their population but one local man concerned they would be completely wiped out built a small reserve for them. In honesty it was a little underwhelming but at least we got a few photos of the little critters.
We overnight in Lubbock tonight and tomorrow move onto Abilene.