Last updated 18:05, Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Dougie Hampson is very proud of his country. But the question that remains unresolved after several minutes of conversation is, which country?

• View more pictures...

Lunchtime at the Crossways Inn, Gretna, half a mile into Scotland. Just where you might imagine national identities to be more sharply defined than anywhere else.

But instead they seem rather blurred. The aroma of Radio Cumbria wafts through from the kitchen. English accents, Scottish accents and the cross-border hybrid that is a Gretna accent are discussing Anglo-Scottish relations.

Do the countries get on? Do people here see themselves as English, Scottish or British? Do the English or the Scots feel most pride in their nation?

And what about here, where the two countries collide around a blacksmith’s shop, an outlet village and a stricken football club? Do the differences mean more or less than elsewhere when you’re living and working with the other side?

It’s becoming no easier to tell which country Dougie is proud of. The 34-year-old roofer speaks with the tongue of a Gretna native. In one sentence he’s an Englishman and in the next a Scot. Leisurely Scottish vowels are rudely interrupted by their abrupt English neighbours. Dougie can sound like Rob Roy with his “wee” and his “lassie” before a Cumbrian “eh” at the end of a sentence confuses the issue.

“It’s like a Borders accent,” he says. “It’s neither here nor there,” a sentiment which could be easily applied to Gretna itself.

“I sometimes work up in Glasgow. Sometimes they speak to you and sometimes they don’t. The further up you go, they think you’re English. The further south, they think you’re Scottish.”

And which is he? “I’m English.”

The answer provokes surprise among some of the Crossways’ bar staff. Dougie’s English? Really? All these years and we never suspected a thing. “My father wasn’t too happy when I came home from Blackpool at 16 with an England tattoo,” he reveals.

More recently Dougie’s national pride has manifested itself in his son Aaron’s birthplace. Expectant mothers in Gretna have the choice of giving birth in either Carlisle or Dumfries. It’s 10 miles to Carlisle and 23 to Dumfries, but the decision is often influenced by more than geography.

“My wee boy was born in Carlisle,” says Dougie. “The lassie’s Scottish. She wanted him born in Dumfries. There was a discussion for a little while but daddy got his way, basically because Aaron was a boy. If it had been a girl it would have been Dumfries.”

Many Gretna folk who are proud to declare themselves Scots were actually born in Carlisle. It’s an admission revealed like a guilty secret, a long time ago, nothing to do with them.

“Just because I was born in England it doesn’t make me English,” insists a Crossways barmaid. “I was only there a day. I’m Scottish!”

Mark Smith has lived in Gretna for most of his life. The 34-year-old is currently working on the A74 upgrade. Is he Scottish or British? “I’m Scottish.”

But he holds no antagonism towards the English and claims the same is true of most people in these parts. He mentions good-natured banter, especially focused around football. “When they show matches in here, if England are getting beat you get a few cheers. Nothing ever comes of it; it’s friendly enough.”

Opinion polls vary but a hefty proportion of Scots are said to favour independence for their nation of five million. Mark is not among them. “It seems to be going all right the way it is. I don’t see independence as the way forward. Scotland can’t live without England. And England can’t live without Scotland.”

The Saltire’s white ‘X’ on dark blue background ripples atop a flag pole at the bottom of a garden. Six miles west of Gretna, Scottish nationalism appears to have arrived in the village of Eastriggs.

In England the flag of St George has acquired sinister undertones. North of the border, Scotland has managed to keep its symbols of national pride untainted.

So who lives in a house like this? Englishmen are welcomed into Graham Moore’s home, even though the flag in his garden is there because of them.

Not because he doesn’t like them, but because he likes winding them up. “Two mates of mine moved up here from Carlisle,” explains Graham. “One of them’s a wind-up merchant so I put a wee flag up outside, just for a laugh. The banter was good so I put a bigger one up. Everybody likes it. There’s one or two gone up in Eastriggs since. I’d say they’ve done it through patriotism.

“There’s a lot of banter but I don’t think there’s any badness or ill feeling. My friends in Carlisle say they’ve still got that law where if you see a Scotsman you’re allowed to shoot him with a bow and arrow.”

Graham is half-English – his father comes from Manchester – but he is “certainly proud to be Scottish. My mother was Scottish and I’ve always lived in Scotland.

“I think the Scots are more proud of being Scottish than the English are of being English. The Scots are more proud of their heritage. Maybe it’s because we’re a minority. With Scots the pride comes out in music and culture. For the English it’s more football.”

Graham’s pride does not extend to a desire for Scottish independence. He voted SNP at the last election. “But I don’t know about independence. Now that Scotland’s oil’s depleted they need to get heavy industry back. Relying on tourism and whisky is not going to keep us going.”

Many people in England are unhappy with the extra £1,500 which those in Scotland receive annually from the state; money which is spent on health and education.

Ann Ritchie, a shop assistant at McKenzie newsagents in Gretna, is Scottish. She acknowledges: “We do quite well. We get free eye checks, free dental checks, free prescriptions.”

None of the English people we spoke to north of the border seemed particularly bothered by this, perhaps because some of the money goes to them.

Graham Moore’s brother, who lives in Whitley Bay, is less easy-going. “He’s got a 14-year-old lassie,” says Graham. “He said ‘When she goes to university you can house her so she can get the free education.’ He was joking, I hope...”

The Shed on Lady Street, Annan, is a much more pleasant place than its name suggests. The “Official Watering Hole of Annan’s Tartan Army” is serving several Englishmen as well as Scots.

Bob Dent lives in Gretna and spent his working life at McVitie’s in Carlisle. Bob was born in Carlisle but he had a big say in ensuring that his children were born in Dumfries.

A proud Scot, he feels the two nations are very similar, and he berates those who attempt to capitalise on its differences. “I think [SNP leader] Alex Salmond is anti-English. I saw him in Annan. He spent a lot of the time talking about Scottish history rather than policy.

“And I don’t like people in England saying ‘We’ve got a Scottish Prime Minister and a Scottish Chancellor and they’re biased towards Scotland.’ No. We’re all British. When it comes down to a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote, Scots wouldn’t vote for independence. The union would be protected. No doubt about it.”

Bob Dent’s view is echoed by many in these parts. Opinion polls may disagree but the News & Star found no voices in favour of Scottish independence, or any anti-English sentiment.

Several people said things might be different “a wee bit further up.” In Gretna they said the independence movement may be stronger in Annan. In Annan they said “Maybe in Dumfries.”

But this close to the border, the biggest differences seem to be accent and football team.

Perhaps the enemy is too numerous to fight. Or too familiar – and too similar – to be an enemy at all.