What if you
- lost your home?
- lost your livelihood?
- had a dire diagnosis?
With triple trauma, Raynor Winn, armed with Paddy Dillon’s guidebook and husband Moth with a copy of Beowulf, embark on a 630-mile walk on the sea-swept South West Coast Path. From Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall. They begin their pilgrimage looking like this, “a pair of stranded turtles” says Raynor, who unintentionally left her cap at home.
For over a year, these 50+year-olds lived in the wild, setting up a tent at night and putting one foot in front of the other by day. Deprived of income, they subsisted on government funds with a few British pounds deposited into their account weekly.
As Raynor explains, we put “one foot in front of another in a metronome of blankness [which] was strangely satisfying and I didn’t want to think. But as Moth struggled on, one thought had crept in; how stupid it was to be doing this, the irresponsibility of dragging him here.”
The SW Coast Path, shown in photos, is unrealistic for most of their journey. The path was often rugged—spiny shrubs of gorse, and bramble. Raynor explains, “But our feet instinctively followed the path, drawn west on the dusty umbilical cord that was allowing us to grow, unseen, in our strip of wilderness. Trevose Head appeared in focus, with endless headlands disappearing south into the mist, yet to be trodden.”
Husband Moth doesn’t speak as narrator in the book, but Raynor tells us about him . . .
“The bakery by the post office was selling the last of its pasties for twenty-five pence each. Moth bought as many as he could, handing one to each of the homeless.” Periodically, she describes their physical condition: ““I dried my bird’s-nest hair, the warm dry air a forgotten pleasure. Living wild on the path, we were always wet. Wet with sweat, wet with rain or just wet from the moist air. Our clothes were damp, always. Damp or wringing wet with sweat during the day, damp from the moist air during the night, damp and ice cold in the morning. There would be moments of dryness, when we sat in the sun, packs off, socks off, drying, to be put back on and wet again within minutes.” They peed in the dark, among the stunted blackthorn, wet with sea spray, pretending Moth would never need a doctor.
About half-way through the odyssey, the couple meet a woman with a Border collie, who recognizes Ray and Moth’s situation and makes a pronouncement: ““I can tell; you have the look.” “The look?” “It’s touched you, it’s written all over you: you’ve felt the hand of nature. It won’t ever leave you now; you’re salted. Author Ray responds to that, ““Is this coast the land of sages and prophets? They seem to be around every corner . . . Salted. I like that. Flavored, preserved, like the blackberries.”
Cluster of blackberries Pixabay
The Fight to Survive Continues
Moth is struggling, the physical endeavor his friend, but the cold his worst enemy. Once they erected their tent in the middle of the floor of a meat-packing shed, recalling their former Victorian house they had restored, a dream now gone, evaporated. As they dried out in the shed, “host” Polly rushes and announces the offer of temporary work as part of a sheep-shearing team.
Another ray of hope develops when Moth makes an application to the University of Plymouth for a student loan. Could his acceptance be a bridge to a more stable existence? At the same time, Raynor records some other rays of light as they consider only 250 of the 630 miles to complete: “After months of inland confinement, drowning in a place that didn’t hold us, returning to the cocoon of an untouchable horizon gripped me with a spasm of joy. We peeled away from the heat to the shelter of the trees and the path of short open grass that funneled a pilgrimage of people to the white arches and stacks of Old Harry Rocks and the cliff edge.”
Yet, their existence is always tenuous
“Living with a death sentence, having no idea when it will be enacted, is to straddle a void. Every word or gesture, every breath of wind or drop of rain matters to a painful degree. For now, we had moved outside of that. Moth was on death row, but he’d been granted the right to appeal.”
Near journey’s end, Raynor observes: “Watching the ferry leave, “Our old life had sailed away, and we let it go, turning our eyes to the west with a fizz of hope. . . . Bodies that fourteen months earlier were hunched and tired, soft and pale, were now lean and tanned, with a re-found muscularity that we’d thought lost forever. Our hair was fried and falling out, our nails broken, clothes worn to a thread, but we were alive.”
Postscript from author
“I had no idea what the future would bring, how it would be shaped by the months spent living wild on the Coast Path. All I knew was that we were lightly salted blackberries hanging in the last of the summer sun, and this perfect moment was the only one we needed.” Indeed, these pilgrims had made incredible progress and finally reached—not the Celestial City—but a place to call home.
How I Discovered Winn’s book
A few months ago, I heard Martin Clunes and Mel Giedroyc interviewing Raynor Winn on ACORN, a British TV network. She admits that walking the path “saved” Moth and later reads a portion of the book to viewers.
You can hear author Winn interviewed in a different venue here:
Pilgrims who made enormous progress had finally reached—not the Celestial City—but a place to call Home.
QUOTES
The shock of something going right is almost as powerful as when it goes wrong. ~ Raynor Winn, The Salt Path
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread. ~John Muir, The Yosemite
Good morning, Marian. That is quite a story, adventure. It sounds like they gained something even as they lost so much. Thank you for sharing!
I am always happy to read your thoughts, usually first, on many Wednesday mornings. Thank you, Merril! 😀
You’re welcome, Marian! 😊
This story is amazing. Thanks for sharing it, Marian.
Happy to share a riveting, true story–so far the best of 2025. Thanks, Darlene!
Just WOW! Beautiful.
Thanks, Jack. 😀
What a compelling story, Marian! Such resilience in the face of a trial. The writing is beautiful. I enjoyed the interview as well.
The writing IS beautiful. Raynor must have kept a journal, but how she recorded such detail in spite of unimaginable, daily hardship is beyond me. Thanks! 😀
Once again you have found a memoir treasure, Marian. Thank you for sharing this story and the interview. My daughter’s in-law family is traveling in Scotland soon. I will send them off with a copy of this book. Not exactly the same landscape, and certainly not the style of travel they will have, but at the very least, Raynor Winn (such a perfect name for her story!) has given us a kind of modern Pilgrim’s Progress, as your reference to the Celestial City suggests. Climate change will mean that this story will not be the last of its kind.
Movie coming May 30: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1157024025/?ref_=tt_vids_vi_1
Yes, Raynor Winn is still walking and still writing. Since The Salt Path, she has published two other books: The Wild Silence and Landlines. I look forward to the movie; I appreciate the link.
You are kind to share a copy of this memoir. I suspect you may read about the couple’s adventure before you pass it on. Thanks, Shirley! 😀
“The shock of something going right is almost as powerful as when it goes wrong.” Amen, sister.
This memoir sounds inspiring and interesting. Thanks for the link to it.
You’re welcome, Ally. Thanks for picking out a favorite quote. 🙂
Wow, their willpower is amazing! This sentence tugged at my heartstrings:
“Living with a death sentence, having no idea when it will be enacted, is to straddle a void. Every word or gesture, every breath of wind or drop of rain matters to a painful degree.” I know that feeling and can identify. Was her husband diagnosed with a terminal illness?
Yes, Elfrieda, you do know the feeling because you have experienced it–so sorry!
Moth was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition, Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), an illness I had never heard of.
As always, thanks for your thoughtful comment, Elfrieda. 😀
Gosh, I love the beautiful writing here, Marian. It really stands out. “Salted” is such a great description. ❤️ What a stirring journey for Winn and Moth (even the names are wonderful) and I was rooting for them. Thanks fo bringing us such an excellent memoir! I’m already looking forward to the movie, too! 😊
I’m sure the movie will be marvelous, but it probably can not showcase fully her beautiful prose.
The Salt Path has touched a nerve with readers, and the author has come out with two more titles, The Wild Silence and Landlines. The movie is the icing on the cake, so to speak.
Thanks for chiming in, Melanie. 😀
Raynor’s story is fascinating, even if a bit hard to understand the British (Scottish?) twang. You bring us some new adventures almost every time you write, as well! Blessings!
I’m glad you enjoyed a visit to the Salt Path.
You made me realize that although I began my blog with scenes from family history, now my topics are “all over the place”–unpredictable. Thanks for joining me on this ride, Melodie! 😀
What a story! When I hear about the hardships that some people face through no fault of their own, it seems wrong for the rest of us to complain about trivial things that aren’t in the same stratosphere.
Pete, that’s the perfect takeaway! After 14 months of struggle to survive, Raynor created her riveting story. The original book, the one I read, has spawned two more titles and a movie in the works, which comes out May 30. 😀
I have just listened to this story and what a story…they both had some mettle to lift their heads to show they were not beaten…
Carol, I like your description: “They both had some mettle to lift their heads to show they were not beaten…” Perhaps you can picture some of the terrain because you spent your early life in England. 😀
Hi,
I will read this book because the interview has definitely inspired me. I enjoyed hearing her talking about living each moment as it is and not thinking about the next moment or the next day. It made me think of Matthew 6:34 because I am in that same place where I am learning to treasure today, taking one day at a time.
Thank you for presenting her book.
Shalom shalom
Pat, yes, we are pilgrims who need to pace ourselves. Thanks for the reminder of Matthew 6:34, a timely message from the Sermon on the Mount. ((( )))
An amazing story and journey, Marian. Very inspiring!
Oh, Liesbet, I know how well you can relate to this story: man and woman against the elements–finding ingenious ways to survive and even thrive. ;-D
Hi Marian, this is a fabulous story 💗
Yes, it is one-of-a-kind story. I’m glad you thought so too, Robbie! 😀
What an amazing journey and story Marian. Thanks for sharing it with us. 🙂
You’re welcome, Debby. Yes, it’s amazing and, as you know, it’s also true!
What makes it that much more fascinating. 🙂
I agree with your other readers that the story is fantastic and interesting. Yet at the same time I hunch over, realizing I do not have the grit, nay perhaps the “salt” to do such a journey. And I’ve been in times of great trauma, but still, the thought of giving it all up to walk a path, homeless and needing much but getting nothing, wow, I don’t have it in me. She is a marvelous writer, and I’m glad she’s been able to create a memoir(s) and more out of this and inspire many.
Like you, I don’t think I have it in me. However, I believe Raynor and Moth, especially Raynor, did not think they had other options at the time they began the Path.
I do agree, author Winn is a marvelous writer; she has gone on to write other books related to her story. A movie will be coming out very soon, Pam! 😀
Thank you for sharing this inspirational story, Marian. I love the term “salted.”
You’re welcome, Barb! 😀