THE SALT PATH starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, is the profound true story of husband and wife, Raynor and Moth Winn’s 630-mile trek along the beautiful but rugged Cornish, Devon and Dorset coastline. After being forcibly removed from their home, they make the desperate decision to walk in the hope that, in nature, they will find solace and a sense of acceptance. With depleted resources, only a tent and some essentials between them, every step along the path is a testament to their growing strength and determination.
THE SALT PATH is a journey that is exhilarating, challenging, and liberating in equal measure. A portrayal of home, how it can be lost and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.
Only in cinemas from May 15.
The true story of Raynor and Moth Winn
On Thursday 13th August 2013, Raynor Winn and her husband, Moth, set off from Minehead in Somerset to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path. They had just lost their family farm in Wales, which they had rebuilt and renovated themselves and raised their two children in. A childhood friend of Moth’s convinced them to become involved in some financial investments, which led to debt claims, disputes and a lengthy three-year court battle, ultimately losing the place they called home.
To make matters even worse, in the same week that they lost their home and their entire livelihoods, Moth was diagnosed with a terminal condition called Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD). They sought council housing but were told that Moth was not sick enough and they would not qualify for immediate housing.
When the bailiffs descended upon their property, according to Raynor, whilst hiding under the stairs, she spotted a copy of the Southwest Coast Path guidebook, which in that moment felt like their chance for freedom.
The Southwest Coast Path is the 630-mile coastal route along the boot of England, from Somerset, through Devon and all the way down to Cornwall. It’s a very famous route because of its beauty and the rugged, fierce challenge of the trail itself.
At the beginning of their walk, Moth’s condition was worsening every day. The doctors had advised Moth to stay at home and rest, but he had decided to pick up a backpack with all his worldly goods and walk 630 miles, the equivalent distance of climbing Mount Everest three times.
The more they walked, the more Moth started to regain his physical and mental well-being. Today, over ten years after his original diagnosis, in which he was given a maximum of five years to live, Moth is alive and living a full life. The regression of the disease in Moth has led to a lot of dialogue surrounding the condition and how it is treated. Doctors still have no idea how his symptoms have stabilised.
Possible theories include the extreme reduction of food intake and the freezing cold temperatures they encountered on their walk. Other theories include the restorative power of nature.
It was Moth’s condition that played a huge factor in Raynor even writing her book to begin with. Due to the loss of Moth’s cognitive abilities, she kept a record of their journey in her guidebook to try and help him with his memory. At the end of their journey, Raynor gathered all her notes together and gave them to Moth as a birthday gift. Her daughter then encouraged her to turn it into a book, which she did. Her debut novel The Salt Path sold over a million copies worldwide and spent nearly two years in The Sunday Times bestseller list. She has since written two more memoirs. These sequels to The Salt Path are The Wild Silence (2020) and Landlines (2022).
Now over ten years after first embarking on their 630-mile journey, their story has started on a new journey, that of being turned into a film.
‘The Salt Path was written for Moth, with no intention for it to be read by anyone else. To watch the story of our journey spread so widely and now transform into a film has been unexpected, as if the story has taken on a life of its own,’ Ray explains.
