Scottish Borders farmer Heather Anderson is trying to negotiate 150 turkeys out of her main shed.

They gobble in unison and defiance as they refuse to go.

They'll be gone soon enough — all have been pre-sold and fattened for Christmas lunch.

Ms Anderson hopes Scotland's 300-year membership of the United Kingdom will soon be gone too.

Heather Anderson owns an organic farm and is also and SNP councillor. ( ABC News: Andrew Greaves )

Independence, she is adamant, is the only way forward.

"Scunnert, is the Scottish word for how we are feeling about this election," she tells the ABC from her organic Whitmuir Farm, not far from Edinburgh.

"It means really fed up, really annoyed, really angry."

For the past 20 years, the fresh fruit and vegetables sold at a small shop at the farm's edge have been imported mainly from Europe.

Heather maintains Brexit — and the uncertainty it has brought — has been financially straining for business.

"None of us actually understands what the prize is, so this is a huge amount of pain, a huge amount of stress for absolutely no benefit," Ms Anderson, who is also a Scottish National Party (SNP) councillor, says.

"For Scotland we just want to be a small independent country in Europe."

The end of the Union?

The last Scottish independence bid failed in 2014, with 55 per cent voting to stay part of the United Kingdom.

A second attempt at independence is the SNP's main election platform.

The party is currently polling around 44 per cent and they will be working hard to gain the 24 Scottish seats they currently do not control.

They will need a healthy victory to drive home the push for a second bid for independence.

It is widely argued a mandate for the SNP would be around 50 seats, which is 15 more than the party currently holds.

SNP candidate Deidre Brock hails from Western Australia, but after 20 years she declares herself acclimatised to the inclement weather, as the ABC joins her on a suburban door-knocking afternoon.

Australian-born Deidre Brock is a candidate for the SNP in Edinburgh North and Leith. ( ABC News: Andrew Greaves )

"Scots are pretty hardy," she declares as the wind howls.

"I sense a real determination from the people I am talking to on the doorsteps that they want to send a really loud and clear message to Westminster that they do not support leaving the EU."

In the Brexit referendum of 2016, 62 per cent of Scots voted against leaving the European Union.

The country used to be a Labour heartland, but the party's lack of clarity around Brexit has seen it haemorrhage support north of the border.

Now for some, the unintended consequence of the Brexit vote will be Scotland's split from the United Kingdom.

"Ultimately, Scotland does have a choice and that choice might be that the people of Scotland decide that they would rather be an independent country as part of the European family of nations," she says.

But it's easier said than done.

A second referendum can only be granted by the Government of the day and both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn — one of whom is likely to lead even if in a coalition — have ruled that out for now.

Neither man would want the tearing apart of the United Kingdom to be their legacy.

'I'll move to England'

Not everyone in Scotland desires independence.

In a pub in central Edinburgh, Allan Sutherland has bought members of his pro-union group "Scotland Matters" together for an afternoon pint.

"The first thing is that most people in Scotland, I believe — and certainly from what we have heard in the pub — like to be British and Scottish," he tells the ABC.

Unionist Allan Sutherland said it would "kill" him if Scotland left the UK. ( ABC News: Andrew Greaves )

"What is more important to people? Is it staying in the UK or staying in the EU? And my bet is a lot of people will think staying in the UK is first."

He says he would leave Scotland if it becomes independent of the UK.

"It'll kill me. I'll probably move to England and I know a lot of people who'll do the same thing.

"I'd feel more Scottish living in England than I would in Nicola Sturgeon's independent Scotland, and that's the truth."

It's a polarising issue.

Before our interview begins in The Oxford Bar, Mr Sutherland canvasses with the other patrons if anyone would be offended if they speak to the ABC about their push against independence.

Allan Sutherland (left), David Bone and Donald Lewis enjoy a drink at The Oxford Bar in Edinburgh. ( ABC News: Andrew Greaves )

They're worried they could be set upon, and things might get ugly when the camera is rolling.

His friend, Donald Lewis, later discusses how his wife has asked him to remove a pro-union sticker from the back of their car amid fear of reprisals.

On his Facebook page, someone posted that they hoped his wife dies of cancer.

An unofficial referendum on

The Scottish National Party experienced a substantial surge in support during the 2015 national poll, and blamed low voter turn-out for a subsequent slump during the 2017 election.

Getting voters out to the polling booths in the damp and dank conditions will be crucial this time around. But it's an even more difficult task given the time of year.

On Edinburgh's high street, the Christmas market is in full swing, with haggis and mulled wine on tap.

But Brexit and the upcoming election is dampening the festivities.

Robert Cruise is the resident butcher at the Whitmuir farm and a unionist at heart, but his position is shifting.

Robert Cruise is the butcher at Whitmuir farm and a Unionist at heart. ( ABC News: Andrew Greaves )

"If we stay in Europe, I think we should stay in the United Kingdom. If we come out, then definitely Scotland for its own," he declares.

"Scotland of course will survive; we are a surviving nation."

Heather laughs heartedly when asked if the Scots could cope emotionally without the connection to Britain.

"I think they'll be OK; we will still be friends with them, they'll manage."