HOME to James VI, Great Britain's first monarch, the national monument to William Wallace, location of Robert the Bruce's finest hour and where Billy Bremner first kicked a ball, few places are so imbued with Scots history and symbolism as Stirling.

Critics say the analogy does not hold up, but bordered by the Trossachs to the north, former mining villages and heavy industry to its south and with a densely populated middle of widely disparate social demographics, "Scotland in microcosm" does not feel a restrictive description of Stirlingshire.

Its students lend the city a sense of the cosmopolitan, its financial services industry a window into the global.

Local political swings have also mirrored much of modern Scotland, from its reputation as a Tory stronghold, most recently under hardline monetarist Michael Forsyth, to Labour and now with a heavy SNP presence and representation in Holyrood.

Despite having most councillors on the local authority, Nationalists are the opposition in Stirling, the council run by a coalition of the Tories and Labour.

The latest battle being played out in Stirling has been endlessly and clunkily compared with the bloody defeat of Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314.

Local MSP Bruce Crawford evokes some history on the campaign beat.

"He who holds Stirling holds Scotland," he says, knocking doors in the former mining town of Fallin.

But it is the more contemporary history the SNP stalwart believes relevant.

"When Thatcher took over in 1979 Stirling was Tory, with Forsyth, until 1997 with Labour under Tony Blair. Then the constituency swung to Labour. Move on to 2007 when we took over at Holyrood and Stirling becomes SNP. We believe right now the tide of history is with us."

On the doorsteps of Fallin, home to many who worked at the Polmaise Colliery and where locals tell you there has been a long tradition of staunch Unionism, the signs are promising for Yes.

After a door or two on the aptly named Wallace Avenue, trade unionist and long-time Labour supporter Graham McNair says he will be voting for independence.

His dislike of the Westminster Tory Government is uppermost but currency consequences do not faze him either.

"I travel around Europe in my union work and no-one really has a problem with the Euro."

Tom and Margaret Jones have their worries. They insist they are No voters. Immigration issues don't sit easily but it's Mr Jones's "pit pension" causing most concern.

"I wouldn't vote for that Salmond. And Tam's pension is only £80-a-week but I'd be concerned about it."

By the time he leaves, the MSP is convinced he has a Yes.

Over in Raploch, in the shadow of Stirling Castle, pensioners Marlene and John Mathieson say three generations will vote No.

"Quite frankly, why the devil you don't know when the devil you know is fine. Some of the people involved in the Yes campaign concern me. What are they wanting? Revolution?"

Mrs Mathieson added: "I'm just happy to be together. We've had the Yes people round but they don't call now we've the No Thanks poster in the window."

Labour MP Anne McGuire believes Yes could be a major blow to the Stirling economy. A number of local firms have reach into England and fear this would be cut off after independence.

"People are talking about their savings, not people who are minted, ordinary people," says Ms McGuire.

"But the traditional Labour vote is holding up exceptionally well. Not saying every one of them will vote No but I have spoken with SNP members not voting Yes."

Stirlingshire is not without its oddities. Last year an Ulster-like squabble erupted over the flying of the Union Jack outside the council headquarters. The invitation was extended to the organisers of Armed Forces Day, with all its connotations of comradeship and shared history, to hold the event in the town on the 700th anniversary of Bannockburn weekend. Old Tory outposts like Aberfoyle are now SNP. Yes posters can be seen in the windows of traditional stone villas in places like Bridge of Allan and Dunblane.

"First there was a dispute in the council over flags, which was a bit of a precursor to the hosting of Armed Forces Day and Bannockburn on the same weekend," says Dr Peter Lynch, a senior politics lecturer at Stirling University.

"At the time it all seemed a big deal but in hindsight you ask what it was all about.

"If it is Yes that's going to be because of the campaign intensity. There are also areas like the mining villages which are ripe for Yes."

Dr Lynch, author of the History of the Scottish National Party, added: "We're all aware of the symbolism of Stirling. The campaigns use some of it on their literature. But it's not the type of thing which has any real impact."

Neil Benny agrees. The Tory deputy leader of the council says: "People from outside see the symbolism of Bannockburn or Armed Forces Day. But the people of Stirling relate to the history of the place in a very personal way. We grew up with this stuff."

There is with a large student population "a bit of the hipster Yes vote" but he adds: "I get the sense younger people are voting No. Not just because they've a more cosmopolitan point of view. It's about getting more from being outward-looking to inward-looking. But while it's a challenge this is also an opportunity to get our message back out to the places we've lost to the SNP. Places where the main concern has been to keep out Labour."

Yes Scotland chairman Dennis Canavan represented swathes of Stirlingshire from 1974 to 1983 and still carries a lot of regard and affection in the area.

He has also lived in the Bannockburn area for 44 years.

"We've deliberately not been emphasising events of 700 years ago," he says. "This is about the future and not the events of 700 years ago. I don't detect much of it either when campaigning.

"People are looking at the last 15 years, at the Scottish Parliament and it's honest efforts to create a fairer society.

"The solid Labour places I represented in the 1970s are now much more mixed. Middle class people recognise the democratic deficit."