Buttertubs Pass
A high mountain road linking Wensleydale and Swaledale, with roadside limestone shafts called the 'Buttertubs', some 20 metres deep.
Buttertubs Pass is the mountain road from Hawes to the village of Thwaite in Swaledale. Its highest point is about 526 metres above sea level. Jeremy Clarkson called it 'the only decent road in Britain', and the 2014 Tour de France also passed through. On the north side of the pass, beside the road, are the 'Buttertubs' that give it its name: a group of limestone shafts about 20 metres deep. Legend has it that farmers on their way to market dropped butter down the shafts to keep it fresh. There are small lay-bys beside the road where you can look down into the shafts from behind the railings, but never climb over them. The descent into Swaledale offers a spectacular view of the valley, though the tight bends and steep gradients call for careful driving.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Hardraw Force
- Hawes & Dales Countryside Museum
- Wensleydale Creamery
- Muker & Swaledale Meadows
- Kisdon Force
- Pen-y-ghent
- Aysgarth Falls
- Ribblehead Viaduct