The Glittering Plain

We walked three miles up the coast to Seamill, passing through a series of miniaturized pastel developments beneath the gorse-covered hills.

We found Chinese food in West Kilbride and carried it out into the suburbs, looking for access to the hill that had loomed above us all afternoon. A low stretch of razor wire and a stile let out onto a pasture and then up into a narrow path through the gorse.

We emerged on a high plain of untouched grass, largely flat and entirely silent, with a gentle dell looking out over the sea.