I'm well on the way with Scotland, and enjoying a fair bit of success. I've deliberately stayed out of Western Europe, although I made sure I kicked the English out of Nottingham and London asap. If you can make it to York and Wales before them, then the UK is basically yours.

I managed to take Helsinki quite early on, and this has given me a number of advantages. It served as a great base to sack and occupy Novgorod, and I've been able to pinch Sweden and Norway off the Danes as well. By staying out of the craziness in France, Germany and Italy I've kept good relations with everyone, and the British Isles are easily defended if anyone should be daft enough to try. I think the best early pickings for the scots are to be found in Russia and the rest of the Baltic states.