Book info

• Title The Salt Path
• Author Raynor Winn
• Year 2018
• Genre Memoir

Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey. The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.

Thoughts

When the furore around this book hit, I realised I had the memoir in my collection waiting to read - I must have bought it at some point when my obsession with the South West Coast Path was at its peak. So I had to give it a read, and I’m sort of glad I hadn’t already read it as it was more interesting with the background of the allegations against the author. From the book’s point of view, there’s only a little bit about how they end up on the path the way they have, the rest of it is more the spiritual journey and the hard work of being homeless on that path.

It’s well written but doesn’t really go anywhere (except along the path, obviously), so that you’re not really clear what the point of it is. I can see why people like it and why they’d be upset if the foundations of it aren’t real - but it didn’t strike me as that groundbreaking and I don’t suppose the film will be much more interesting.

Rating: 2 / 5