Scotland is open – and desperate for English tourists

When I told my friends I was heading to the Outer Hebrides on holiday — escaping from London as soon as it was legal to do so — I thought they might be envious. Instead, a few were worried for my safety. ‘Just don’t say you’re from England,’ suggested one. Another encouraged me to ‘lay low’ with my fiancé when boarding the three-hour ferry from Ullapool to Stornoway. Dangerous times, they seemed to think, for anyone down south to head to the Highlands and islands.

I initially brushed off these concerns as confusion over Covid restrictions. Travel rules have changed so many times over the last year — not just nationally but locally. Each of the devolved administrations has often given different guidance. It’s understandable that not everyone would be up to date with the fact that people living in England can now legally go north of the border just for leisure.

When Scotland closed its border during the second wave, certain nationalist politicians were rather active in their pursuit of unwelcome English visitors. Ian Blackford, who leads the SNP team in Westminster, patrolled the border on Twitter. He challenged a photographer who had the temerity to post a picture of the northern lights, demanding to know his ‘valid reason’ for being in Scotland. The answer: he lived there. Protestors in Hazmat suits at one point gathered on the border, telling the English to stay out. It seems to be a regular theme on social media.

While restrictions on cross-border travel have gone, it seems the perception that the English are unwelcome in Scotland has lingered. It’s not so hard to see why. As the question of Scottish independence dominates the news agenda, there have been a series of incidents that don’t exactly scream ‘come to Scotland’.