THE march for Scottish independence in Campbeltown was declared to be a huge success, despite last minute confusion over whether it would go ahead.
Between 1500 and 2000 people took to the streets on Saturday, making it the biggest march the small Argyllshire town has ever seen, according to organisers.
Ron Wilson of Yes Kintyre said there was a real buzz in Campbeltown over the event with many taking part arriving early, giving hotels, pubs and cafes a welcome boost.
Marchers came from all over Scotland to join in, with some from as far as Fife and Aberdeenshire.
“Campbeltown is a Yes town and it was brilliant to have all these people come here,” he said. “Local people were coming off the pavements and joining the procession so it created a good, positive vibe.”
The threat of rain did not dampen spirits as the marchers made their way to Kinloch Green overlooking Campbeltown Loch.
A small number of Unionist protestors also failed to have any negative impact on the marchers’ high spirits and Wilson said the event had “exceeded expectations”.
“We could not really have asked for a bigger crowd considering the logistics as, for example, Glasgow is a three-hour drive away,” he said.
“Having been to many rallies I would say there was definitely between 1500 and 200 people there.
“It was the biggest political rally Campbeltown has ever had. It was fantastic.”
Wilson said he was particularly pleased at the turn-out as there had been some confusion over whether the march would go ahead due to internal divisions within the hierarchy of AUOB.
Last week founder Neil Mackay resigned from his position on its national executive pending an internal investigation.
The organisation then said the march and rally in Campbeltown was no longer an AUOB event but former director of operations Manny Singh, who was sacked by AUOB last weekend, said an event, called All Under One Saltire, would still take place.
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