What a difference two seasons make: Yorkshire’s Buttertubs Pass in winter

Today, seven and a half months later, the road has taken on a more familiar solitude, with a lone car traversing the slush.

This shot was captured by photographer John Giles at Buttertubs, near Hawes, after the weekend snowfall which made driving difficult across many parts of the region.

Contrast that with the scene last July, when thousands lined the route above the town, the “Cote de Buttertubs”, in what was the Tour’s biggest climb in Yorkshire, stretching up to the 1,745ft summit, basking in sunshine after overnight downpours and an overcast early morning gave way to glorious summer weather.

Buttertubs then had the look of a real Alpine climb. Today, even without the cyclists, it looked more so.