Abington -
It is a fairly complex issue, however, at the levels you seem to be talking about, as long as you stay away from conrtol zones, and remain in unrestricted airspace (class G), you can virtually do what you like within the rules of the air.
If you are in southern Scotlan (what do you call southern - I was born in the borders), south of Edinburgh, you do not have much in the way of controlled airspace to worry about - however beware of the low level military traffic in this area.
You can partake in a LARS service, receiving either a FIS, RIS or (If flying IFR; RAS), or you can fly around speaking to a FISO who will give you a FIS or ultimately you can elect not to speak to anyone and do your own thing.
Up in Scotland, there are a lot of low flying fast jets to consider, so you would be well advised to talk to a LARS unit - even if you only elect to take a FIS, any LARS unit that is half decent will tell you about fast moving traffic in your vicinity - as long as they have both you and it on radar obviously (they may want to identify you depending on your intended route and any possible activity they may have... this identification does not constitute that a radar service is being provided).
At the very least, if you wish to fly about without speakng to anyone, you should always have a com plan for your route, and as you potter around, you should dial up the appropriate LARS frequency and listen in - it's good airmanship and if you get into a spot of trouble, you will have the best frequency selected (as well as 121.5).
Rememebr that in class G airspace, you are responsible for collision avoidance under a FIS or RIS - it's a see and be seen environment.