It is a Highland cottage with a dual history that has become a blot on the landscape of one of the world's most visited locations.
Now, plans are afoot to 'reclaim' the Glencoe house that once belonged to prolific sex offender Jimmy Savile to honour its previous, celebrated occupant.
The owners of the derelict, graffiti-strewn property off the A82 at Allt-na-Reigh have lodged a new application to demolish it and build a private residence that the community "can be proud of".
Near to the cottage is the workshop where he perfected the first all-metal ice axe, the MacInnes Massey, and later the Terrordactyl, and the MacInnes stretcher, the lightweight folding alloy stretcher used world-wide in mountain rescue.
A new, smaller property will be built here and named Hamish's House, in honour of the mountaineer.
The 'once-in-a-generation' project is being led by retail tycoon Harris Aslam and his business partner Raza Rehman and family.
Following Savile's death in 2011, the two-bedroom bungalow was put up for auction and was purchased for £212,000 by an Edinburgh building and later acquired by Mr Aslam for a reported £335,000.
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The property is being designed by Dundee-based architect, Jon Frullani and is the second application submitted after an earlier bid drew complaints from Mountaineering Scotland, which said the design jarred with its iconic surroundings.
Hamish House will be accompanied by a plaque honouring the Galloway-born mountaineer, explorer and author.
Harris Aslam said: "We are pleased to have submitted a revised planning application to Highland Council for the demolition of the existing cottage and replacement with an alternative residence sympathetic to the prestigious surroundings.
"The proposed design takes into account feedback from several consultations held with engaged stakeholders including Mountaineering Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, Highland Council and most importantly, the local community.
"This really is an incredibly exclusive property and presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop something we can all be very proud of as adorers of the Glencoe Valley and as proud Scots.
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"We often forget the truly life-changing inventions which mountaineering legend, Sir Hamish MacInnes, created in the outbuilding on site including the 'Pterodactyl' ice-axe and the eponymous Macinnes stretcher used by mountain rescue teams worldwide.
"Accordingly, intending to pay homage to Sir Hamish, it gives us great pride to propose the outbuilding to be named Hamish House along with a commemorative plaque to be installed on site to honour these great achievements.
He added: "This has been a challenging project over the last few months and years, though we appreciate a pre-application position reached with Highland Council whereby they are welcoming the revised proposals and we are hopeful this will lead to a positive outcome for all with a view to commencing works on site in Spring 2024."
Mountaineering Scotland objected to the original plans saying the elevated design "imposed the building on the landscape, rather than within the landscape" and would detract from the landscape in a designated National Scenic Area.
Hamish MacInnes was born in Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway on July 7 July 1930.
MacInnes was exposed to mountaineering at a very early age and by the age of 16, he had already climbed the Matterhorn.
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In 1953, when he was 23, he made an attempt to scale Mount Everest, with his friend John Crabbe Cunningham and had almost made it before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay scaled the mountain.
He went on to complete the first winter ascent of Crowberry Ridge Direct and of Raven's Gully on Buachaille Etive Mòr in the Scottish Highlands, with Chris Bonington in 1953.
He is noted for bringing many innovations to mountaineering equipment and led the area's mountain rescue team from 1961.
He was involved with a number of films, as climber, climbing double and safety officer and was part of the production team for the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
He served as mountaineering consultant, built the film's "bridge of death" and became friends with star Michael Palin.
MacInnes acquired a number of nicknames within the mountaineering community, including the affectionate "Old Fox of Glencoe" and died on November 22 2020.
Savile lived in the property at Allt-na-Reigh from 1998 until his death in 2011.
Savile's abuse was thought to have begun in the mid-1940s, when he was in his late teens or early twenties, and lasted until 2009, two years before his death.
The Dame Janet Smith review identified 72 victims of Savile in connection with his work at the BBC, including eight who were raped. Eleven of his victims were younger than 12 years old.
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