"NOTHING puts a smile on your face quite like a march."
That's what one attendee told this paper as thousands of Yessers took to the streets of Stirling for this weekend’s All Under One Banner (AUOB) demonstration.
The rally starting point was a short walk from Stirling train station at the Old Bridge, with the procession getting under way at around 12:40pm, after a brief delay from the planned start time.
Timelapse (quite shakey sorry) of the tail end of the Stirling AUOB rally crossing the old bridge with the Wallace monument in the background pic.twitter.com/NBGUXu1HfA
— Xander (@xanderescribe) June 24, 2023
The 4.5-mile route headed through the centre of the city before looping out around King's Park.
Before the march began, three huge Saltires were hung from the Stirling Old Bridge.
There were five pro-Union counter protesters to roughly 5000 independence demonstrators according to our reporter Xander Elliards, who was in attendance. Police told him that’s all they’re expecting.
"The film Braveheart has got a lot to answer for," one Unionist told him, adding that the UK side needed "someone like Neil Oliver" to rally around.
The march passed the Yes bikers near King's Park, where the cacophony of horns, engines and music came to a climax.
Things get loud at the pro-independence march through Stirling as it passes the Yes bikers 🏍️🎺🏴 pic.twitter.com/JQ1fY7jLQ3
— Xander (@xanderescribe) June 24, 2023
The march concluded at Bannockburn, where more pro-independence supporters were gathered.
The car park at the historic site was overflowing, as people who did not fancy the long march headed straight to the rally.
The march marked the anniversary of the 1314 battle, where Robert the Bruce won a decisive victory over King Edward II of England.
In a statement beforehand, AUOB said they hope to “continue to build the mass movement for independence, bringing together and uniting all strands of Yes, cross-party and none”.
They continued: “On Saturday, we will send a clear message to Westminster and Holyrood that we will continue to mobilise our forces until we have defeated the rotten and undemocratic Westminster rule, whose vicious attacks on the poor, and our living standards - whilst scapegoating anyone but the rich and powerful for its ills - make Scottish independence an emergency situation.”
