AT home, they are fervent supporters of independence for Catalonia, and their short break in Scotland brought them closer to the cause of Scottish independence when they came face to face with the Wee Ginger Dug at The National roadshow in Dundee.

Monica Calvell and Alfred Busqueta, from Barcelona, were flying home from Glasgow today after spending a week taking in some of Scotland’s favourite attractions around Glasgow, Loch Ness, Edinburgh and the City of Discovery.

The couple saids they were were awed by the majesty of Loch Ness and its surroundings and well impressed by Dundee V&A.

Yesterday, they joined the queue of visitors to gain admission to one of the country’s top attractions Edinburgh Castle.

Busqueta reflected on some of the similarities between the Scottish capital and Catalonia’s.

“Edinburgh also has the Old Town and the architecture is different but the centre of the city is similar to Barcelona,” he said.

“Glasgow is different because it doesn’t have so much of the old buildings.”

He went on to explain how they found themselves at The National roadshow on Wednesday: “A friend came over to Barcelona for La Diada [Catalan National Day] and we were visiting them.

“They are activists here in Scotland and they brought us to The National meeting. Paul Kavanagh was talking about the lack of pro-independence media in Scotland, but in Catalonia we have one TV channel and several newspapers in Catalan supporting independence.

“It surprised me that there is only one newspaper supporting the ‘Yes’ movement in Scotland.

“The political situation is different between our two countries, but we have more ways to get the message out to potential Yes voters in Catalonia.”

Despite the obvious difficulties in disseminating the pro-independence message effectively, Busqueta said he was sure it would come here and in his homeland.

“We support Catalan – and Scottish – independence and the fight is a long one,” he said.

“But if the people want it we will have it in time.”