Brian Cox and John Swinney address rally for independence on Edinburgh's Calton Hill
Thousands of people marched through Edinburgh on Saturday in support of independence and heard Succession star Brian Cox speak alongside First Minister John Swinney at a rally on Calton Hill.
The award-winning actor told the crowd: "I've come late to all this. I've been ploughing my own furrow for many years now, so I didn't realise how much Scotland meant to me - and it's really come to me in my later life.
"But I feel it's time we were free. We are not free - and we are the people who will make it free, and it's up to you to do it. "We've been treated like the poor relation for long enough and it's time we show who we are, who we are as a people.
"It's amazing to see you all here and know that we all share the passion - and it's not about parties, it's about people who want a free Scotland - and that's what we have to get."
The event, organised by Believe in Scotland, comes less than six weeks before the Scottish Parliament elections.
The march began at Parliament Square and proceeded down the Royal Mile, up to Regent Road and on to Calton Hill.
Mr Swinney used his speech to accuse the UK Government of holding Scotland back and stopping Scotland's voice being heard.
He said: "This march is so important and I want to thank Believe in Scotland for giving us this opportunity to say loud and clear throughout Scotland to the international community: Scotland is ready for independence, and it is coming now.
"We are a country of good values - we believe in compassion, we believe in dignity, we believe in the respect of other people, we believe in equalities, we believe in human rights, we're against illegal wars, we're in favour of peace around the world. That's who we are as a country.
"But the United Kingdom stops our voice being heard on the international stage, and I want it to be heard loud and clear that Scotland is a country that believes in peace, we abhor nuclear weapons, we abhor war around the world, we are a country that believes in peace and equality and fairness - and we will be that independent voice in the days to come."
He said Scotland was being held back by decisions at Westminster and in an energy-rich country, Scots lived in fuel poverty, paying sky-high fuel bills. "That is the fault of the United Kingdom and we must take Scotland's energy wealth into Scotland's hands with independence.
"We have an opportunity in the weeks to come, in the Scottish election, of making sure that Scotland's voice is heard and that Scotland's future is taken into Scotland's hands."
Scottish Green co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer also spoke. Ms Mackay said independence was about democracy. “It’s about making our own decisions, it’s about being able to do things differently, it’s about recognising that the best people to decide what happens in Scotland are the people who live here.”
And Mr Greer targeted unionists for criticism in his speech. “We’re all here because we have a hope for the future of our country and they cannot offer any alternative to the hope that comes with independence.”
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