:00:00. > :00:09.sampling three of Scotland's most famous walks and talking to some
:00:10. > :00:13.colourful characters along the way. I love Scotland. I've been coming
:00:14. > :00:16.here for years ` walking, fishing, getting to know people and places. I
:00:17. > :00:23.always thought that Scotland and I got on just fine. But now I'm not so
:00:24. > :00:26.sure. This year on the 18th of September, the people of Scotland
:00:27. > :00:31.will decide whether to leave the UK and become an independent country. I
:00:32. > :00:35.want to understand what's going on. I can't help thinking that Scotland
:00:36. > :00:41.doesn't like the rest of the UK. But, if so, why? Anyway, because I'm
:00:42. > :00:56.passionate about Scotland, I've come here to find out what this
:00:57. > :00:58.referendum is all about. I'll be visiting places between here in the
:00:59. > :01:01.Scottish Borders and the north of Scotland, talking to locals, and
:01:02. > :01:12.canvassing their opinions about independence. But I'll be doing it
:01:13. > :01:22.my way. And that means walking. In fact, I'll be sampling three of
:01:23. > :01:39.Scotland's most famous trails. This should be quite a walk.
:01:40. > :01:44.The first of my three journeys is along the Southern Upland Way, which
:01:45. > :01:46.starts in the west, north of Portpatrick, and runs 212 miles
:01:47. > :02:01.right across the country to Cockburnspath. It's easy to see why
:02:02. > :02:05.this stunning landscape has inspired countless artists and writers over
:02:06. > :02:09.many centuries. But it conceals a dark history ` hinted at in English
:02:10. > :02:13.words which originated in the Borders like "blackmail" and
:02:14. > :02:20."bereaved". Indeed, this region provided a haven for generations of
:02:21. > :02:23.cross`border reivers and smugglers. And, up until the Treaty of Union
:02:24. > :02:31.between Scotland and England in 1707, the Borders was a violent
:02:32. > :02:33.frontier between the two countries. Over the centuries, ownership passed
:02:34. > :02:44.between the warring factions numerous times. The Borders' bloody
:02:45. > :02:51.history makes me wonder if the locals dislike the English. And, if
:02:52. > :02:56.so, whether that sentiment will translate into votes for
:02:57. > :03:04.independence come September. Or does the Borderers' proximity to England
:03:05. > :03:07.make them more inclined to vote no? I'm meeting someone who's going to
:03:08. > :03:16.help me understand how the locals tick. Some walk you've done there.
:03:17. > :03:19.It's very windy. You know, Janet, it's really interesting that you
:03:20. > :03:24.decided to start your walk here in Cockburnspath, because this is where
:03:25. > :03:27.the Union really started. In 1503, which isn't a date you hear very
:03:28. > :03:31.much, this was all Crown land and James IV married Margaret Tudor,
:03:32. > :03:36.Henry VIII's sister. She was given Cockburnspath as part of a dowry.
:03:37. > :03:39.This was supposed to usher in an era of eternal peace and friendship
:03:40. > :03:42.between Scotland and England. And in Cockburnspath, if you go into the
:03:43. > :03:48.village, there's a cross which commemorates that. It's got thistles
:03:49. > :03:51.on two sides, roses on the other side, and it's a symbol of the union
:03:52. > :03:56.that didn't happen for another century and continues still today.
:03:57. > :03:59.This place has got a spirit and a character all of its own. They're a
:04:00. > :04:05.completely different breed of people, the Borderers. And it's not
:04:06. > :04:09.surprising. They've managed to ignore the fact that there is a
:04:10. > :04:14.border for so many years, but also use it to their advantage when they
:04:15. > :04:18.wanted to. I mean, these lands were completely lawless. There was no
:04:19. > :04:25.government north or south that could control them.
:04:26. > :04:31.The other thing about the Borders is that the border itself has shifted
:04:32. > :04:35.so many times. And if you speak to the people who
:04:36. > :04:39.live in the northern part of the English borders, they would quite
:04:40. > :04:43.like to join in with quite a lot of what Scotland has. They will look
:04:44. > :04:46.over the valley and say, "How come they get free higher education, free
:04:47. > :04:49.prescriptions, "free bus passes, and we're stuck in this Little England
:04:50. > :04:53."that doesn't have these advantages? And yet the people north of the
:04:54. > :04:55.border look south and go, "Well, actually, you're our friends, we
:04:56. > :05:01.trade with you, "should we be separate?"
:05:02. > :05:03.From the point of view of the people currently living in the Borders, how
:05:04. > :05:07.would they take to being governed from Edinburgh?
:05:08. > :05:12.I'm sure they would see it as no different from being governed from
:05:13. > :05:16.London. It's one of the big things you hear down here, "Why should we
:05:17. > :05:18.be told what to do by someone who doesn't live here?" There's this
:05:19. > :05:21.independence`mindedness that they have.
:05:22. > :05:25.Have you thought about the vote and which way you're going to vote?
:05:26. > :05:28.I think, like so many people, I will decide the night before the polling
:05:29. > :05:32.happens. I don't think it will come down to the logic and the policies
:05:33. > :05:35.and all these things, because nobody knows what it's going to be like
:05:36. > :05:41.after the vote, whether it's yes or no. You cannot unboil an egg.
:05:42. > :05:44.I'm handing you the ballot paper and saying, Bruce, I want your cross,
:05:45. > :05:47.which box is it going to go in today?
:05:48. > :05:53.If it were today, I'd be voting yes. If you'd asked me last week, I'd
:05:54. > :05:58.have said the balance was no. And it might change again between now and
:05:59. > :06:01.September. Interesting. Bruce's dilemma has got me thinking about
:06:02. > :06:05.what the people I meet will base their decisions on. So, I'll be
:06:06. > :06:10.asking them in an entirely unscientific straw poll. Here in the
:06:11. > :06:13.Borders, for example, the population's link with the land is
:06:14. > :06:16.so strong, I wonder whether people will be casting their votes on the
:06:17. > :06:30.basis of patriotic fervour, economic interest or something else? I'm at
:06:31. > :06:33.Coldstream, where the River Tweed forms the border between Scotland
:06:34. > :06:36.and England. Like Gretna Green, it used to be a favoured destination
:06:37. > :06:42.for young couples eloping from England to get married. In a way, my
:06:43. > :06:45.visit concerns matrimony, too. I'm meeting a very successful farmer to
:06:46. > :06:49.find out if he'll be voting for Scotland to part from the rest of
:06:50. > :06:59.the UK or renew its vows in the referendum. From my point of view,
:07:00. > :07:02.currency worries me. Whether we're going to be able to have a single
:07:03. > :07:06.currency. Membership of the EU, that's a big question for us
:07:07. > :07:12.farming. In Scotland, our biggest market is England. To go and have a
:07:13. > :07:14.different currency and put up a trade barrier across the border
:07:15. > :07:27.wouldn't be very helpful for our industry. So that's a big worry. I
:07:28. > :07:30.think I would have to make an assessment at the time but I'm
:07:31. > :07:34.pretty happy with the situation we have at the moment and I think it
:07:35. > :08:06.would be the wrong thing to split the Union up.
:08:07. > :08:11.Anything that might make trading more difficult... You seem to be
:08:12. > :08:20.worried about the bureaucracy. Could there be more paperwork? We don't
:08:21. > :08:24.know. Even getting access to other countries... I have just filled in a
:08:25. > :08:30.visa waiver to go to America. Is that still going to exist? All of
:08:31. > :08:36.these things are concerns. My concerns is that when we are
:08:37. > :08:46.exporting, we cannot say, OK, we have our prices in pounds. We go out
:08:47. > :08:50.and do it in currencies. So if you go to Japan, you do it in Japanese
:08:51. > :08:55.yen. And the same in all the other countries. I don't know what we're
:08:56. > :08:59.going to base it on now. Are we going to have the pound? Are we
:09:00. > :09:06.going to have a monetary union that suits both countries? Or are we
:09:07. > :09:10.going to have a Scottish currency that can be devalued, and we don't
:09:11. > :09:13.have backup on that? Some people might say, "You work in
:09:14. > :09:18.a business that's strong. If it's that strong, surely it will survive
:09:19. > :09:21.anyway?" Obviously Scotland is not going to disappear if we vote yes.
:09:22. > :09:25.It's going to just be a transitional difficult time, I'm sure. How is
:09:26. > :09:32.that in the short term going to be affected? And what is the short
:09:33. > :09:36.term? It might be a period of years. That is very bad. A period of
:09:37. > :09:39.uncertainty is very bad for commercial businesses. But they've
:09:40. > :09:42.also recognised that in Scotland, and particularly this area, that we
:09:43. > :09:49.have skills that are doing extremely well, which are almost dead. Are you
:09:50. > :09:53.willing to tell me how you're going to vote? I'm worried about the
:09:54. > :09:57.uncertainty. I like the status we have now. And, like Hamish, I will
:09:58. > :10:03.actually go into that booth with an open mind. But at the moment I'm
:10:04. > :10:07.happier with the status that we are in. I haven't made up my mind yet
:10:08. > :10:10.because I want to hear all the arguments. I'm not hearing all the
:10:11. > :10:13.arguments at the moment. I'm getting one side that's blustering, the
:10:14. > :10:30.other side down south who are threatening. And I don't like any of
:10:31. > :10:33.that. At the end of the first section near
:10:34. > :10:36.the borders, where the main industries are textiles and farming,
:10:37. > :10:42.the overwhelming impression I got from people I talk to was no thanks.
:10:43. > :10:47.But that was just my impression. Now, I'm heading north, where I will
:10:48. > :10:55.be sampling a great walk through the central belt. I'm walking along the
:10:56. > :10:58.canal tow path. It runs for 35 miles between the River Falls near
:10:59. > :11:05.Grangemouth in the east and bowling near the Clyde in the West. The
:11:06. > :11:09.canal takes us through some of Scotland's's former industrial
:11:10. > :11:15.heartlands, now home to some of the most deprived communities. It's an
:11:16. > :11:20.area synonymous with rebirths and regeneration and one whose diverse
:11:21. > :11:33.electorate will pay a key part in deciding Scotland's future. ``
:11:34. > :11:40.play. The canal passes through Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. By
:11:41. > :11:49.the Victorian era, Glasgow was the second city of the British Empire.
:11:50. > :11:51.In the past 25 years, the city has transformed from a manufacturing
:11:52. > :12:01.powerhouse to a largely service sector economy. Glasgow's
:12:02. > :12:06.International financial services district, the so`called square
:12:07. > :12:09.kilometre, provides employment for around 15,000 people and it puts the
:12:10. > :12:16.city in the top 15 European financial centres. Call centres have
:12:17. > :12:20.become an integral part of the local economy, employing 20,000 people and
:12:21. > :12:29.earning Glasgow the tag of call centre capital of Europe. And
:12:30. > :12:36.Glasgow has become Britain's biggest shopping destination outside London,
:12:37. > :12:41.generating ?2.4 billion in sales and creating more than 150,000 jobs. In
:12:42. > :12:43.the early 1970s, the Conservative government began withdrawing state
:12:44. > :12:48.subsidy and closing down shipyards on the River Clyde. The policy
:12:49. > :12:53.precipitated a fight back by trade union activists, one that propelled
:12:54. > :13:01.their charismatic spokesman, Jimmy Reid, to international celebrity.
:13:02. > :13:07.They can do what they want but we will not accept redundancies. One
:13:08. > :13:12.year after he died in 2010, some of his supporters set up a left of
:13:13. > :13:19.centre organisation in his honour. Tell me more about this area. It
:13:20. > :13:25.seems to have had such a fantastic cast and it is such an important
:13:26. > :13:30.part of Scotland's history. It is tied up with our identity. We have
:13:31. > :13:34.so much pride in the fact that one in three of the world's vessels were
:13:35. > :13:42.built here. It was filled with people with good jobs. It was a
:13:43. > :13:52.proud community. And gradually, it has just died. Robin, what do you
:13:53. > :13:59.say the decline dates from? What really killed it was Thatcher. It
:14:00. > :14:05.was the monetary policy which meant that it just wasn't worth investing
:14:06. > :14:08.in industry any more and you could make massive returns gambling in the
:14:09. > :14:12.city of London. It took 30 years before people realised this was not
:14:13. > :14:18.working but by that point, Scotland suffered severely. We lost our
:14:19. > :14:22.entire industrial base. Do you think if Scotland vote yes, the people
:14:23. > :14:29.here stand a better chance of having their interest placed higher up the
:14:30. > :14:32.agenda? They would be happy to have their interest rates lower down the
:14:33. > :14:38.agenda that they have in written right now. This is not a good place
:14:39. > :14:43.to be a worker. Do you think the voters in this area holds the key to
:14:44. > :14:49.the referendum? If Britain is kicking Scotland, they will be
:14:50. > :14:53.kicking the workers. Rich people are voting no, the poor people are
:14:54. > :14:58.voting yes. The question is if the poor people will turn out. They are
:14:59. > :15:01.going to be no longer voting for two versions of the same thing in
:15:02. > :15:05.Westminster. They will vote for something different. If poor people,
:15:06. > :15:10.out and vote, Scotland will become independent. I had thought one
:15:11. > :15:16.reason for independence was the Scots were fed up with the English?
:15:17. > :15:20.Is it that simple? It has nothing to do with the English. One of my big
:15:21. > :15:26.proposals is that I suggest we build a new town in the north of Scotland
:15:27. > :15:30.and granted political asylum to anyone from England who wants to
:15:31. > :15:36.live here. It's not that we don't like you. They are not a part of our
:15:37. > :15:41.lives. The Six O'clock News that we see coming up from London might as
:15:42. > :15:48.well be coming from France. It's not about the English. It's absolutely
:15:49. > :15:52.not. Well, that is retold then. When I started my journey, I was
:15:53. > :15:56.concerned that the referendum was Scotland's way of telling England
:15:57. > :16:01.they don't like us. Back in Glasgow, Robin assured me that was not the
:16:02. > :16:05.case. But I'm not convinced the message has got through to the
:16:06. > :16:20.playwright I'm meeting next in his hometown, Falkirk.
:16:21. > :16:26.that will be on the Edinburgh fringe a month before the referendum. I
:16:27. > :16:30.wanted to do political theatre. It is political propaganda. I know
:16:31. > :16:35.where you are coming from from how do you sell the idea of an
:16:36. > :16:39.independent Scotland outside Scotland? `` from your badge. We
:16:40. > :16:44.think you are doing it because you don't like us. I can see how it
:16:45. > :16:48.might look like that, because if you are not part of the debate happening
:16:49. > :16:54.in Scotland, which is a very deep and immersive and diverse one, it
:16:55. > :16:58.looks like this thing that has erupted from nowhere that, you must
:16:59. > :17:05.do it because you don't like us. For us, it is about democracy. It is
:17:06. > :17:08.about controlling our economy and deciding on our government and the
:17:09. > :17:24.future our country takes. We can't do that. My walk through the
:17:25. > :17:31.industrial heartland of Scotland has been very different. Not least,
:17:32. > :17:35.because, according to make not very scientific poll, people were more
:17:36. > :17:43.positive towards the idea of independence. I have the impression
:17:44. > :17:46.the Central Belt will be critical in deciding the outcome of the
:17:47. > :17:52.referendum. And, that the vote of the working class is vital. I will
:17:53. > :17:57.finish my walk in north`east Scotland. First, I have come here to
:17:58. > :18:04.Aberdeen to see what impact the oil industry will have on the outcome.
:18:05. > :18:14.How important is oil to the Scottish economy? It is very important. It is
:18:15. > :18:18.important to the economy of the UK. It has contributed in tax revenues
:18:19. > :18:23.approximately ?300 billion in today's terms. If Scotland decides
:18:24. > :18:31.to go for independence, how important will the oil revenue be?
:18:32. > :18:39.Not only the revenue. We'll provide about 200,000 jobs `` or ill. It
:18:40. > :18:46.contributes about ?22 billion to the gross domestic product ``. Without
:18:47. > :18:53.being a part of the Scottish economy, it would be difficult to
:18:54. > :18:57.see how it with riot. `` how it would thrive. Scotland has 200 local
:18:58. > :19:03.companies based in Scotland who operate in supplying servicing the
:19:04. > :19:11.oil industry. They have developed an expertise that is marketable abroad
:19:12. > :19:13.and half the revenue they earn is from international activity.
:19:14. > :19:19.Scotland's companies are in packing nationally. I hope that would
:19:20. > :19:32.continue if we were independent `` impacting. Which way will you vote
:19:33. > :19:37.in September? It is difficult. It won't come down purely to economics,
:19:38. > :19:43.but probably to sentiment and national pride. What is being said
:19:44. > :19:48.is that we are being denied the status of a country. If that
:19:49. > :19:54.alters, I would be happy to remain in the UK. Years and years of
:19:55. > :20:02.striving to gain independence, it would be a shame to back from that
:20:03. > :20:05.because of fears of what might happen and being accused of not
:20:06. > :20:21.being able to look after the country better than the UK can look after
:20:22. > :20:32.it. This disused railway line runs over 50 miles from the north`east of
:20:33. > :20:36.Aberdeen all the way to phrase it. What has been bothering me since I
:20:37. > :20:40.made this film is what is going to motivate people to vote in the
:20:41. > :20:50.referendum `` Fraserbrough. Is it threats to livelihood, or will they
:20:51. > :20:54.vote with their hearts? From the Borders to the Central Belt to the
:20:55. > :20:59.north`east, wind turbines have been everywhere I have visited in
:21:00. > :21:03.Scotland. The renewable energy sector forms a major part of the
:21:04. > :21:12.national economy. Wind power is the fastest growing technology,
:21:13. > :21:16.employing 11,500 people, and generating investment of over ?1.5
:21:17. > :21:19.billion in 2012 alone. Back in Aberdeen, Alex the oilman said his
:21:20. > :21:23.vote would be guided by sentiment and national pride, and not naked
:21:24. > :21:27.economics. Yet the voting intentions of most of the people I've met on my
:21:28. > :21:34.journey have been influenced by money, pure and simple. I'm about to
:21:35. > :21:46.chat to a farmer who doubles as an apostle for renewable energy. In his
:21:47. > :21:53.case, wind power. Would independence be a good or bad thing for windfarms
:21:54. > :21:56.like yours is yellow dart? We would prefer that we didn't have
:21:57. > :22:02.independence because of the underlying problems `` windfarms
:22:03. > :22:07.like yours? What are the obstacles that need to be overcome? The main
:22:08. > :22:12.thing is the fact that the tariffs come from Ofgem, why the Department
:22:13. > :22:18.of energy and climate change in England. There is no administration
:22:19. > :22:23.of that at all. If it is a sudden change over, there is going to be
:22:24. > :22:26.chaos for a while. Do you think and independent Scotland could afford to
:22:27. > :22:32.pay you the same subsidies, is that another worry is yellow there is a
:22:33. > :22:37.never concerned `` another worry? A lot of that is coming from
:22:38. > :22:45.offshore. The subsidies are twice as high as it is for these turbines. So
:22:46. > :22:51.there would be concern as to how they'll get the money to pay for all
:22:52. > :22:54.that. I am on the final stretch of the Formartine and Buchan Way, which
:22:55. > :23:00.ends here at Fraserburgh. This small fishing town is deceptive. It's the
:23:01. > :23:02.biggest shellfish port in Europe. Prawns and king scallops are the key
:23:03. > :23:23.products. The whole town's economy revolves
:23:24. > :23:25.around the harbour. Six out of ten of Fraserburgh's workforce, around
:23:26. > :23:31.800 people, work in fishing`related jobs.
:23:32. > :23:40.The stakes are high. I'm meeting a man who owns a fleet of ten fishing
:23:41. > :23:45.boats. Do you get turbot? Yes. Brill? Brill as well. I love brill.
:23:46. > :23:48.Turbot goes for an amazing price. Alan, how important is fishing to
:23:49. > :23:53.this part of Scotland? Hugely important, especially Fraserburgh
:23:54. > :24:00.here. You've got the whitefish vessels, prawn vessels, everything
:24:01. > :24:05.comes into Fraserburgh. And Peterhead, for that matter, relies
:24:06. > :24:09.on the fishing industry. It is a big employer. And it brings a lot of
:24:10. > :24:12.money into the region. If Scotland votes for independence, how will it
:24:13. > :24:15.affect Fraserburgh? We're kind of looking at that at the moment. We've
:24:16. > :24:18.discussed that at a meeting up at the Whitefish Association on Friday.
:24:19. > :24:21.And there's so much uncertainty, that's the thing. You know, many
:24:22. > :24:24.people would say Europe's ruined the fishing industry but, at the same
:24:25. > :24:27.time, we're tied in closely to them. So, it's the uncertainty of what
:24:28. > :24:37.would happen if you're out of Europe for independence, what do we do with
:24:38. > :24:40.the reciprocal agreements we've got? Do you think if Scotland is
:24:41. > :24:43.independent and you have to bargain with the rest of Europe, you and
:24:44. > :24:46.Norway together, is that good or bad? Maybe better. Some people would
:24:47. > :24:50.say it's better because we always come back from Europe at the end of
:24:51. > :24:54.the year thinking, we've had a bad deal. So, if we were with Norway, we
:24:55. > :24:59.might think it would be better. The biggest fear is the hiatus of the
:25:00. > :25:03.time that we come out. How long would it take to get back in there?
:25:04. > :25:06.And if it was from a standing start, it might take some time. But if we
:25:07. > :25:15.were allied with Norway in negotiating with Europe, some people
:25:16. > :25:18.may say that would be better. I was worried that when I came to
:25:19. > :25:21.Scotland, I might find that September's vote was down to whether
:25:22. > :25:26.the Scottish hated the English. It turns out that I was completely
:25:27. > :25:31.wrong. I also thought that the further north I got, the more I
:25:32. > :25:38.would find people voting yes and I was wrong about that also. In the
:25:39. > :25:41.Borders, the move amongst those I spoke to was generally against
:25:42. > :25:45.independence. In the Central Belt, much more in favour. In the
:25:46. > :25:53.north`east, it seemed pretty evenly split. This was my totally
:25:54. > :25:56.unscientific straw poll. It might not reflect how people vote on the
:25:57. > :26:00.18th of September. Whatever the outcome, I'll still be coming back
:26:01. > :26:49.to enjoy your fabulous walks. Good luck.
:26:50. > :26:50.The weekend is upon us and I am sure most of us are hoping for