THE rural constituency of Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire is barely an hour's drive from Edinburgh but it feels a world away.
The peaceful, rolling Borders countryside is dominated by farming but there is fishing, too, in Eyemouth and along the cost, and textile production in Hawick. Tourism is also important in and around towns like Jedburgh and Kelso.
A spin around the quiet roads reveals a roughly even split between giant farm field billboards in support of Conservative candidate John Lamont and the SNP's Paul Wheelhouse.
And, however unscientific that sounds, campaign strategists reckon it sums up the state of play pretty accurately: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire is one of the few constituencies where there is a real contest in this election.
READ MORE: Five constituencies to keep an eye on in the Holyrood election
The Tories are perhaps a little more confident in this two horse race.
At the last Holyrood election, Mr Lamont achieved a comfortable victory over the SNP, defeating Mr Wheelhouse by more than 5000 votes. The previous MSP, Liberal Democrat Euan Robson, was dumped into third place.
With the LibDems also losing the near-equivalent Westminster constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk in last year's General Election the Tories are confident that LibDem voters will back them as means to keep the SNP out.
Mr Wheelhouse, the minister for community safety in Nicola Sturgeon's government, readily admits that views are "polarised" on the doorstep with independence - in one of the strongest No-voting parts of Scotland - remaining an issue.
"The Tories are pushing the idea we want to have a referendum tomorrow but that's not the promise," he says.
"We are saying to people, we want to build support but until such time as people are ready, we are not planning another referendum.
"There are lots of people who want to stop the Tories as well, so a lot depends on which argument is more persuasive."
A mixture of national and local issues are to the fore.
The Scottish Government's failure to deliver EU farm payments, the winter floods and job losses in the textile industry have all been raised.
On the campaign trail, Mr Lamont and Mr Wheelhouse - two quite gentlemanly sparring partners - have clashed over the government's response.
Mr Wheelhouse has managed to score a few points over the new Borders rail link, which has given the tourism industry a boost but which, he insists, was opposed by Mr Lamont.
He agrees with his rival on one thing, though: "LibDem voters have disappeared like snow off a dike."
With the SNP riding so high in the polls, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire represents one of the Tories' best chances next week.
But the party retains a glimmer of hope of victory across the south, prompting one strategist to joke the electoral map of Scotland could end up "looking like a Brazil kit," with SNP yellow at the top and Tory blue at the bottom.
Their biggest challenge is in Galloway and West Dumfries, the seat previously held by Alex Fergusson, where the party is under pressure from the SNP's Aileen McLeod, who came within 862 votes of victory in 2011.
Tory candidate Finlay Carson, a local councillor, will have his work cut out to stop Dr McLeod, the minister for environment, climate change and land reform in Nicola Sturgeon's government, from going one better this time.
Privately, the Conservatives believe they have a better chance in neighbouring Dumfriesshire.
The Tories lost the seat - after some significant boundary changes - to Labour's Elaine Murray at the last election.
Ms Murray is standing again but, with Labour support in its traditional Dumfries town stronghold switching to the SNP in last year's General Election (when, with a 29 per cent swing to the Nationalists, Richard Arkless took the Dumfries and Galloway seat from Russell Brown,) this time the contest is seen as a two horse race between the Conservatives and the SNP.
READ MORE: Five constituencies to keep an eye on in the Holyrood election
Standing for the Nationalists is Joan McAlpine, a high profile regional MSP in the last parliament.
The journalist and former parliamentary aide to Alex Salmond is up against Oliver Mundell, son of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the country's sole Tory representative at Westminsterh David Mundell, whose sprawling Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweedale seat covers much of the same territory.
His victory last May - he was one of only three MPs to resist the SNP surge - was put down to years of hard work in the constituency and the Conservatives are confident the family name, as well as a good deal of tactical voting, will help their man.
Ms McAlpine is favourite to win next Thursday but the bookies, it is said, have been taking more money on an upset in Dumfriesshire than any other seat.
Will Scotland end up looking like the Brazil football strip? The Scots Tories will feel like World Cup winners if it does.
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