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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 May 2025 in the UK. In July 2025, a report in The Observer challenged the two events that led to the walk described in The Salt Path, namely her husband's terminal diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration and the circumstances that led them to be evicted from their house.

Biography

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Early life

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Raynor Winn was born in 1962.[1] She grew up on a farm in the English Midlands, said to be either in Staffordshire[2] or near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.[3] 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.[4] She has stated that she was born Sally Ann Winn, but disliked her name and adopted a family name Raynor, choosing to write under her maiden surname; her husband is Timothy Walker and uses Moth as an abbreviation of Timothy.[5] The couple have two adult children.[2][6]

Disputed events

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According to the account in The Salt Path, two events in 2013 triggered the decision to walk the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path.[7][8] Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD); and the couple became homeless after a business deal with a friend went wrong.[2][9]

According to a 2025 account in The Observer, the couple lost their home in North Wales after Raynor stole £64,000 from her employer, where she was working as an accounts clerk. To repay this amount plus legal costs, the couple borrowed £100,000 from a distant relative with 18% interest per annum payable, secured against their house. 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. The article said that "nine neurologists and researchers specialising in CBD" who were spoken to "were sceptical about the length of time he has had it, his lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them".[4]

In response, in an online statement published on 9 July 2025, Winn called The Observer's article "grotesquely unfair" and "highly misleading" and stated that she was taking legal advice.[5][10][11] Winn stated she was questioned but not charged, nor did she face criminal sanctions; a settlement was agreed by both parties. Winn claimed she settled because she did not have the evidence required to support what happened.[12] Contesting The Observer's claims; she included copies of letters from Moth's doctors over ten years of treatment for corticobasal syndrome (CBS).[5] The BBC reported that one letter appeared to show that Moth had previously been considered as having an "atypical form of corticobasal degeneration", but further examination suggested he may have "an even more unusual disorder, perhaps monogenetic".[13] Winn stated: "I never sought to offer medical advice in my books or suggest that walking might be some sort of miracle cure for CBS, I am simply charting Moth's own personal journey and battle with his illness, and what has helped him."[14]

In the light of the allegations in The Observer, a charity dedicated to CBD and the related illness progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), the PSP Association, ended its relationship with the Winn family.[15][16] The two companies that produced the film adaptation, Number 9 Films and Shadowplay Features, stated that no issues were known at the time of filming, and that due diligence had been carried out.[17]

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,[18] and the 2018 Costa Book Awards[18] 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."[19] In May 2019, the book won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize.[20] In September 2019, it was the bestseller in UK independent bookstores.[21] A film adaptation also titled The Salt Path, with Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in the lead roles,[22] 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]

Winn's subject matter includes nature, homelessness and wild camping.[26] Her second book, The Wild Silence, was published by Michael Joseph in September 2020.[21][27] It was shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.[28] In 2020, the South West Coast Path appointed Winn a "charity ambassador", describing The Salt Path as "hugely popular" and "inspiring so many" to walk the path.[29]

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.[30][31]

In April 2024, the couple set out to walk the Thames Path to raise awareness and funds for CBD.[32]

Winn's fourth book On Winter Hill was to be published on 23 October 2025 (ISBN 9780241484586) by Penguin under the Michael Joseph imprint. It describes her solitary winter journey along the Coast to Coast Walk across northern England.[33] On 11 July 2025, Penguin announced that together with Winn they had decided to delay publication.[34]

Performance

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Winn worked with Peter Knight's Gigspanner Big Band on a 2022 album Saltlines, with prose by Winn alongside traditional songs from the south west of England.[35] They toured a Saltlines show in 2022[36] and 2024,[37][38] and performed at the 2023 Sidmouth Folk Festival.[39] A 2025 tour was cancelled after the Observer article, although the band intended to fulfil some of the dates wihout Winn and with a different programme to promote their next album, Turnstone.[40][41]

References

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  1. ^ Ellis, Sophie (10 March 2025). "Who is Raynor Winn? Everything you need to know about the author of The Salt Path". BBC Countryfile. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c 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.
  3. ^ Dayman, Ady; Conor (30 May 2025). "Woman who inspired Hollywood film relives emotions". BBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
  4. ^ 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. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Winn, Raynor (9 July 2025). "Statement". Archived from the original on 9 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  6. ^ Lytton, Charlotte (28 August 2022). "Homeless, sick and facing bankruptcy: What became of The Salt Path couple". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  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. ^ "How crisis led couple up the coastal path". BBC News. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  10. ^ "The Salt Path: Author Raynor Winn defends herself against claims she misled readers". BBC News. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  11. ^ McIntosh, Steven (9 July 2025). "Raynor Winn hits back at claims she misled readers". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Raynor Winn". Raynor Winn. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  13. ^ "The Salt Path: Raynor Winn hits back at claims she misled readers". BBC News. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Raynor Winn". Raynor Winn. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  15. ^ "PSPA's response to the Observer article". PSPA. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  16. ^ Simpson, Craig (7 July 2025). "The Salt Path author dropped by charity amid embezzlement row". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  17. ^ Creamer, Ella (7 July 2025). "Author of bestselling memoir The Salt Path accused of lying". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  18. ^ a b Raynor Winn | The Salt Path. Penguin Books. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  19. ^ "2018 shortlists for all categories" (PDF). Costa Book Awards. 22 November 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  20. ^ "RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2019 – winner announced". Royal Society of Literature. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  21. ^ a b Wood, Heloise (27 September 2019). "Raynor Winn's next novel revealed at Michael Joseph showcase". The Bookseller. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  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.
  26. ^ "Raynor Winn". Penzance Literary Festival. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019.
  27. ^ Tempany, Adrian (30 August 2020). "The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn review – in search of healing and home". The Observer. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  28. ^ Comerford, Ruth (4 August 2021). "Sethi, Winn and Rebanks shortlisted for Wainwright Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  29. ^ "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.
  30. ^ Beer, Amy-Jane (15 September 2022). "Landlines by Raynor Winn review – back on the trail". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  31. ^ "Landlines". Penguin Books. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  32. ^ "Thames Path walk for couple raising awareness of rare condition". BBC News. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  33. ^ "On Winter Hill by Raynor Winn". Penguin. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  34. ^ McIntosh, Steven (11 July 2025). "The Salt Path: Author Raynor Winn's next book delayed due to 'distress' of newspaper investigation". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  35. ^ "Gigspanner Big Band and Raynor Winn - Saltlines". KLOF Mag. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  36. ^ "Gigspanner Big Band & Raynor Winn Present Saltlines in association with FolkEast". Spiral Earth. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  37. ^ "Gigspanner Big Band with Raynor Winn, the author of the 2018 bestseller The Salt Path". Newbury Today. 28 May 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  38. ^ "Show celebrating south west is 'hauntingly beautiful'". Bridport and Lyme Regis News. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  39. ^ "Saltlines". Icarus Music. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  40. ^ Woods, Rebecca (10 July 2025). "Refunds as The Salt Path author pulls out of tour". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  41. ^ Knight, Peter (7 July 2025). "Saltlines Tour Update". Gigspanner. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
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