Here we are, in the final week of the referendum campaign and, with three days to go until polling day, the atmosphere in Scotland is extraordinary.

There are thousands of volunteers out of the streets campaigning for both sides. There is excitement, as well as tension and some anger in both campaigns. The polls are close, with the No campaign still slightly in the lead. And the largest electorate Scotland has ever seen is registered to vote and ready to take part on Thursday. In modern Scottish political history, there has never been anything like it.

The mass registration of voters in particular has been one of the great positives of the campaign. Turnout in Scotland for the 2010 general election was just over 60% and in 2011 it was just over 50% for Holyrood.

However, this year, with more than 118,000 voters registering in the month before the deadline, there are realistic expectations that the turnout could be as high as 80%. Opinion is sharply divided about whether this will be good for the No side or the nationalists, but it is certainly good for democracy.

As for the polls, they remain neck-and-neck and, although No retain a small lead, it may be in spite of, not because of, the Better Together campaign. In the most recent polling, those questioned are much more likely to describe Better Together than Yes Scotland as lacklustre or negative.

Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon also enjoy much higher satisfaction ratings than Alistair Darling and it would appear that even No voters have been unimpressed with some aspects of the Better Together campaign. That is not the same thing as winning the vote, of course, but perhaps there are some lessons for politicians on how to run a positive, popular campaign.

There will always be some negativity in the campaign, particularly as the polling day nears.

Last week, for instance, there was the so-called Battle of Buchanan Street when a Labour rally in the centre of Glasgow ran into a group of Yes hecklers and yesterday a large group of Yes supporters gathered outside BBC Scotland's headquarters at Pacific Quay to accuse the corporation of an anti-independence bias.

John Reid, the former Labour Home Secretary, has also accused Alex Salmond of indulging in anti-English sentiment when he described a group of Labour MPs campaigning in Glasgow as Team Westminster. "We know what they meant by Team Westminster don't we?" said Mr Reid. "They meant English."

In many ways, though, the campaign has been remarkable for its lack of prejudice and the civilised way both sides have behaved. It has been passionate, certainly, and has sometimes got out of hand, particularly online, but it has also been intelligent, intense and inclusive.

So intense has the debate become, in fact, that even the Queen became involved yesterday. Speaking after church, she said she hoped people would think very carefully about the referendum. Seen by some as a significant intervention in the debate, in these last few days, it is nothing if not good advice.