A GIANT Playboy Bunny, carved into a hillside by the aristocratic owner of one Scotland’s most expensive estates, has gone up in flames.
The 300ft version of the iconic rabbit silhouette logo of Hugh Hefner’s magazine, cut into the landscape of Tillypronie Estate by now former owner Philip Astor, was visible from space.
Now photographs show it disappearing after a blaze, although it is unclear if it was controlled burning or a wild fire.
The 12,000-acre estate and house was built in 1867 by Sir John Clark, the diplomat son of Queen Victoria’s physician. Queen Victoria was a regular visitor, often accompanied by her servant and confidant John Brown – made famous in the film Mrs Brown.
Astor, who inherited the estate in 1984, commissioned estate workers to mar the bunny image into the land. The £10.5 million estate was sold in 2016.
Retired barrister Astor previously said he was proud of the light-hearted addition to “a blank bit of hill that looked as though it needed a feature”.
Yesterday, he said: “I’m pleased to see that at least he still survives on Google Maps.
“He was an amusing feature and it was a skilled job creating him. My head keeper at the time, Sandy McConnachie, mapped it out, getting the perspective right.
“He drove a tractor with a swipe behind it, while being directed by another keeper from below via a walkie talkie.
“It’s a steep slope, so Sandy had to be pretty careful.”
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