diff --git a/lib/iris/__init__.py b/lib/iris/__init__.py
index 7ff0a4260e..b944f9b22f 100644
--- a/lib/iris/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/iris/__init__.py
@@ -101,7 +101,12 @@ def callback(cube, field, filename):
 import iris.io
 
 from ._deprecation import IrisDeprecation, warn_deprecated
-from ._version import version as __version__  # noqa: F401
+
+try:
+    from ._version import version as __version__  # noqa: F401
+except ModuleNotFoundError:
+    __version__ = "unknown"
+
 
 try:
     import iris_sample_data