Activists taking to the streets of Edinburgh show an enduring williness to take action for independence, reports Sophie Johnson

On Saturday, several thousand demonstrators turned up to march through Scotland’s capital in support of Scottish independence. Although still a far cry from the tens of thousands who filled the streets at pre- pandemic demonstrations in 2019, the event – organised by All Under One Banner- had the biggest numbers since disheartening turnouts over lockdown.

Organisers of the event had come up against opposition to the march from Edinburgh city council and eventually conceded to reroute the march, just a day before the event, to a far less visible course.

Despite this frustrating outcome of negotiations, which many pointed out contrasted to the support from Scottish councils for the deeply bigoted and racist Orange walks held in and around Glasgow earlier in the month, the atmosphere was energetic and indicated that some of the momentum from two years ago was back within the movement.