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Raynor Winn

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Raynor Winn
Winn at the North Cornwall Book Festival, October 2019
Born1962 (age 62–63)
Occupation(s)Writer, long-distance walker
Notable workThe Salt Path
Partner(s)Moth Winn, also known as Tim Walker (husband)

Raynor Winn, also known as Sally Walker (born 1962) is an English long-distance walker and writer. Her first book, the autobiographical memoir and travel diary titled The Salt Path, was a Sunday Times bestseller in 2018, and a film of the same name was released in 2025.

Biography

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Raynor Winn was born in 1962.[1] She grew up on a farm in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.[2] Before the events described in The Salt Path, she was named Sally Walker, and her husband (named Moth in the book) was called Tim Walker.[3] The couple have two adult children.[4][5]

According to the account in The Salt Path, Winn and Moth, who was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), became homeless after a business deal with a friend went wrong,[5][6] and decided to walk the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path.[7][8]

According to an account in The Observer, specialists consider Moth unlikely to have CBD, given his long survival after diagnosis. The newspaper states that the couple lost their home in North Wales after Raynor defrauded her employer of £64,000. The couple borrowed £100,000 with 18% interest payable, secured against their house, from a distant relative. In addition, they were both out of work, and had a £230,000 mortgage against the same property; the combined debts exceeded the value of the house. After the relative's business went bust, the debt was sold on, and the Winns, unable to repay, were taken to court. The Winns lost the case, and the house was repossessed.[3]

In the light of these allegations, PSPA, a charity dedicated to CBD and to the related illness Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), terminated its relationship with the Winn family.[9]

Writing career

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Winn's first book, The Salt Path, marketed as a memoir, a piece of nature writing and a travel book, was shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize,[10] and the 2018 Costa Book Awards[10] in the biography category. The judges described it as "An absolutely brilliant story that needs to be told about the human capacity to endure and keep putting one foot in front of another."[11] In May 2019 the book won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize.[12] In September 2019 it was the bestseller in UK independent bookstores.[13]

Winn's subject matter includes nature, homelessness and wild camping.[14] Her second book, The Wild Silence, was published by Michael Joseph in September 2020.[13][15] It was shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.[16] In 2020, the South West Coast Path made Winn a "charity ambassador", describing The Salt Path as "hugely popular" and "inspiring so many" to walk the path.[17]

Winn's third book, Landlines (2022), describes a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) journey with her husband beginning with the 200-mile (320 km) Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, described as "the toughest and wildest Britain has to offer", and continuing southwards through Scotland and England to the South West Coast Path.[18][19]

In April 2024 the couple set out to walk the Thames Path to raise awareness and funds for CBD.[20] Winn then took part in the 2024 London Marathon, completing in a time of 7hr 52min 7sec.[21]

Adaptations

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In 2023, a film adaptation also titled The Salt Path began filming, with Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in the lead roles.[22] It premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024[23][24] and was released in the UK on 30 May 2025.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Wilde Stille" [Wild Silence]. dumontreise.de (in German). Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  2. ^ Dayman, Ady (30 May 2025). "Woman who inspired Hollywood film relives emotions". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b Hadjimatheou, Chloe (5 July 2025). "The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller left a trail of debt and deceit". The Observer.
  4. ^ Lytton, Charlotte (28 August 2022). "Homeless, sick and facing bankruptcy: What became of The Salt Path couple: When their lives unravelled, Raynor Winn and her husband Moth went on an epic hike; a decade and two bestsellers later, they're still going". The Daily Telegraph.
  5. ^ a b Wollaston, Sam (6 December 2018). "'Nature was my safe place': Raynor Winn on homelessness and setting off on a 630-mile walk". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  6. ^ "How crisis led couple up the coastal path". BBC News. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  7. ^ Winn, Raynor (17 July 2017). "In rural England the homeless are a problem to be hidden..." The Big Issue. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Homeless couple say walking South West Coast path was 'life-changing'". ITV News. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  9. ^ "PSPA's response to the Observer article". PSPA. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  10. ^ a b Raynor Winn | The Salt Path. Penguin Books. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  11. ^ "2018 shortlists for all categories" (PDF). Costa Book Awards. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  12. ^ "RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2019 – winner announced". Royal Society of Literature. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  13. ^ a b Wood, Heloise (27 September 2019). "Raynor Winn's next novel revealed at Michael Joseph showcase". The Bookseller. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Raynor Winn". Penzance Literary Festival. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019.
  15. ^ Tempany, Adrian (30 August 2020). "The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn review – in search of healing and home". The Observer. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  16. ^ Comerford, Ruth (4 August 2021). "Sethi, Winn and Rebanks shortlisted for Wainwright Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  17. ^ "Raynor Winn". South West Coast Path. 2020. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2025. The Salt Path is a Sunday Times bestseller and is hugely popular amongst all lovers of the Path, inspiring so many to follow in her footsteps.
  18. ^ Beer, Amy-Jane (15 September 2022). "Landlines by Raynor Winn review – back on the trail". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Landlines". Penguin Books. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Thames Path walk for couple raising awareness of rare condition". BBC News. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  21. ^ "TCS London Marathon 2024: Raynor Winn". Mika timing. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  22. ^ Barnes, Dan (21 June 2023). "Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs filming Salt Path in Chepstow". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  23. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (13 August 2024). "TIFF Adds 20 More Movies To Lineup With 'Saturday Night', Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones' 'On Swift Horses', Max Minghella's 'Shell', 'Megalopolis' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  24. ^ Schoettle, Jane (2024). "The Salt Path". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  25. ^ "The Salt Path". UK Cinema Release Dates. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
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