The best friend of Hamish MacInnes has said a property being built in his name is “not what he would have wanted” – and that he hoped the land would be given back to nature.
The white-walled cottage, which sits along the A82 Fort William to Glasgow road, was occupied by Scottish mountaineer Hamish MacInnes from 1959 until 1972.
He lived there with his wife, Catherine, until he moved to a new home further down the Glen.
More recently, the cottage has been associated with disgraced broadcaster and paedophile Jimmy Savile, who bought the rural Highland home in the 1990s and lived there from 1998 until 2011.
Since his death that year, horrific abuse allegations have surfaced including that Savile abused victims at the cottage.
The cottage has since been a target for graffiti and vandalism and is now a shell of itself.
Future of Glencoe site approved
In 2021, the site was bought by north-east businessman Harris Aslam, with plans to demolish the cottage and erect a new structure called Hamish House.
This week, Highland Council gave the go ahead for the old cottage to be demolished and work to begin on the new-build property.
However, Mr MacInnes’ best friend of more than 60 years, Graeme Hunter, has told The Press and Journal that “wouldn’t be what Hamish wanted”.
According to Mr Hunter, before he died in 2020 MacInnes wanted the cottage “erased” and the land “given back to nature”.
The cottage was where the mountaineer developed the MacInnes stretcher, equipment still used today by mountain rescue crews.
Hamish MacInnes wanted ‘no association’ with Savile saga
Mr Hunter says MacInnes was “embarrassed” by the link to Savile and it was often a topic that came up in his life, but he “wanted no association with it”.
He said: “With all the problems with Jimmy Savile, Hamish had lived in that house for nearly 30 years and developed a lot of his stretchers and ice picks on that site.
“When the allegations against Savile came to light, and the cottage was badly defaced and vandalised it was Hamish’s view that rather than rebuild anything on it, just erase it and put it back to nature.
“Hamish’s main problem is that he didn’t actually know the guy who bought it over and I don’t see why he is naming it after Hamish when you don’t know him.
“It was not something he really wanted to be associated with.”
In addition to the negative connection with Savile, Mr Hunter says the site is on a “very dangerous corner” of the A82 road and didn’t think it made for a safe place to rebuild a house there.
The association with Savile for Mr MacInnes was “highly embarrassing” for him, says Mr Hunter, and that it “would always be mentioned” throughout his later life.
Plans are for the new build to be called Hamish House
Mr MacInnes was unaware of the plans for Hamish House in the years leading up to his death, however, following the Savile saga, he just wanted the cottage gone.
Mr Hunter has an issue with Mr Aslam intending to name the newly built Hamish House, saying the move was “unnecessary”.
He added: “It would be more appropriate for the newly built cottage to continue being called ‘Allt-na-Reigh’, and quite inappropriate to be called Hamish’s, or MacInnes’s.”
Speaking at the time of planning application, Mr Aslam explained his reasoning.
He said: “The hope is to create a lasting legacy to be proud of without a constant reminder of the dark and horrific abuse that took place in the derelict cottage.”
Mr Hunter says Hamish MacInnes’ true legacy is in the funding given to the Scottish Mountaineering Trust from the Hamish Trust.
Mr Hunter fondly remembers MacInnes, adding: “I was there at the very end. A very intelligent guy, he could talk on just about any subject.
“He was very ingenious having developed mountaineering equipment that is still used today. He was quite an amazing character.”
We have reached out to Mr Aslam for comment.
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