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"Just days after Raynor Winn learns that Moth, her husband of thirty-two years, is terminally ill, their house and farm are taken away, along with 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, through 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 and life-affirming journey. Powerfully written and unflinchingly honest, The Salt Path is ultimately a portrayal of home--how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways"--… (more)
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But walking the 630 miles of the South West Coastal Path, from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset is no easy matter, especially when one party is seriously ill with a rare degenerative disease. With only a couple of hundred pounds salvaged from the ruin of their life they were unable to buy the sort of equipment that serious walking needs, and the amount of equipment they could take was further hampered by Moth’s physical limitations. They calculated that they would have only £40 a week in benefits to live on, a figure which was frequently reduced. Even the cheapest campsites were too expensive if they also wanted to eat, so they decided to wild camp wherever they could find a secluded spot.
And so they set off, trudging very slowly up the first large hill out of Minehead, and up and down and up and down as the path climbed down to the sea and back up to the cliffs again and again. Frequently cold, hungry, and wet they plodded on as summer turned into autumn. But despite all the physical hardships, one of the hardest things that they faced was the reaction of other people when they discovered that the couple was homeless. Backpackers were an acceptable part of the scenery, but homeless backpackers were to be avoided at all costs...
This is a marvellous book, which I strongly recommend.
I found the transformation of the author's perspective to be the most powerful element of the book. It really is inspirational and gives you the sense that you can deal with
It was a wonderful investment!
A story of people who had more than their fair share of trial, but who fought back by realising what was important in life and living their lives accordingly!
Raynor Winn’s husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness; the couple lost a court case and incurred massive debts that would swallow up everything they owned, because the evidence that they were not liable arrived to late to be admissible in court; and that was why baliffs were hammering on the door to complete the process of taking their farm and livelihood away.
They hid under the stairs, because they didn’t know what else they could do.
‘I was under the stairs when I decided to walk. In that moment, I hadn’t carefully considered walking 630 miles with a rucksack on my back, I hadn’t thought about how I could afford to do it, or that I’d be wild camping for nearly one hundred nights, or what I’d do afterwards. I hadn’t told my partner of thirty-two years that he was coming with me.’
It was mad but it was the only thing they could do to stop being dragged down by the ruin of their past lives, to not undermine friendships by having to accept help and be grateful, and to avoid being a burden and a worry to their two grown-up children.
The idea was sparked by the book ‘500 Mile Walkies’ by Mark Wallington. I haven’t read it but the Man of the House has and he loved it.
Their only income would be £48 per week, they were homeless anyway, so why not walk the south-west coast path?!
The couple harboured their meagre resources to buy a new lightweight tent, a couple of sleeping bags and new rucksacks; and to get themselves to their starting point – Minehead in Somerset.
The walking was gruelling – especially for Moth, who had been advised that the best thing he could do for his condition (corticobasal degeneration or CBD) was to take life slowly and steadily – but as long as they kept moving the couple could forget that they were homeless and be happy that they were doing something together.
They had no money for official campsites, so wild camping was the order of the day, and it wasn’t easy to find a suitable spot each night, or to get up, pack up and be out of the way before anyone could object to them being there in the morning. Their limited budget meant that their usual diet was noodles, tins of tuna, and sweets. It was tough – particularly when they saw visitors using amenities and eating pasties and ice creams – but they endured and they became healthier.
The walk would not be a miracle sure for Moth, but it slowly became clear that it was having a positive effect in his health.
‘The path had given us certainty, a sense of security that came with knowing that tomorrow and the next day and the next we would pack up the tent, put one foot in front of the other and walk.’
Along the way he and his wife saw the best and the worst of human nature. Many people when they heard that they were homeless, or when they saw that they looked shabby and were eating the most basic rations, shunned them, called them names and made unwarranted assumptions. But others were supportive and encouraging, offering food and drink, and offering sensible and useful advice.
All of that gave the author a very real concern for the plight of the homeless.
She wrote beautifully about her emotions, her experiences, and about the path that she and her husband for walking. Sometimes when I read books about the south-west I’m looking out for the places close to home that I know well but that didn’t happen with this book, because I was so caught up in the moment. Reading was rather like hearing an account from a friend who is open and honest, who has a wonderful way with words, and who knows exactly what details to tell, which anecdotes to share to make a good story.
When I heard her speak her voice was exactly as it had been in her book.
There is much that I could share, but I’m just going to say that you should read the book and find out those things that way.
There are highs and low, there are moments to make you smile and moments to make you sigh, in this wonderful true story of homelessness, love and endurance.
There is so much local color in the book that one is often tempted to look places up on Google Earth. Nevertheless, Winn’s narrative is highly personal and thus much more than just a travelogue. Instead it is a tale of goal-setting, self-doubt, discovery, and redemption. Raynor and Moth lived on a pittance, often going hungry, and rough camping. They experienced prejudice against the homeless, challenging terrain, aches, blisters, inadequate equipment, and, of course, miserable weather. Yet they also discovered intense natural beauty, and human kindness. The story starts in a dark closet filled with fear and ends on a cliff overlooking the sea and filled with hope and serenity. “Like the windblown trees along our route, we had been re-formed by the elements.”
Winn’s story might seem depressing, but her writing is anything but. She is gentle with herself and Moth avoiding the obvious temptation to moralize about their situation. Although not meant as a comedy, the book is filled with much humor, often the self-effacing kind. The most effective being anecdotes that become inside jokes between her and the reader: how could the author of her trail guide cover so much ground in a day? (does he lie?) Why does Moth remind so many people of the famous hiking poet, Simon Armitage?
This is an inspiring tale that is a light read, but filled with useful lesson for successfully traversing tough times.
I would say that the important things to take from this book are a) never ignore legal proceedings in the hopes they will go away and b) never ever ever appear as a litigant in person.
And in a way it is. But all along I was interrupting the author with a 'Why on earth did you do that?' or 'Why didn't you.....?' The lengthy walk was apparently decided on a whim. It would give them time to think, come to terms and adjust. You wouldn't expect them to be as prepared as if they were undertaking a long planned expedition. But they made life more difficult for themselves than it already was. They camped in poor spots when they needn't have done. They had very little money but they frittered it away on impulse buying of snacks. They refused to acknowledge their position and ask for help. They became preoccupied by making progress along their route without allowing themselves time to reflect and enjoy. They were exasperating companions.
The book itself is tolerably enough written but its structural seams were all too evident. A paragraph of purple nature prose inserted here and there. Post walk research of what they'd seen stuck in after a search of Wikipedia or local guide books. They made the South West Coast Path an obstacle course of holiday camps and crowded resorts policed by a legion of dog walkers. I was as glad to get to the end as they were.
With the precious little money they have, they buy a new lightweight tent, a couple of sleeping bags and new rucksacks and drive the van to Minehead in Somerset as that is where all the guidebooks begin. Moth's condition of corticobasal degeneration or CBD, meant that the doctor had advised him to take it easy and not to overdo it; probably not attempt a 630-mile walk around the spectacular coastline of the south-west. The first part of the footpath is probably the toughest section with the high cliffs and steep paths and it is a struggle for both, but Moth in particular. They have no money for official campsites, so wild camping was the way to go, ensuring that they found a place out of sight, and were packed up before they could be discovered in the morning.
They met all sorts of people of the walk, but telling those that they met that they were homeless would a lot of the time cause a lot of prejudice and they would be shunned, called tramps or worse. Sitting eating a shared pack of budget noodles when other are stuffing pasties and ice creams in, is quite soul destroying. However, there were others who would be prepared to help, providing hot drinks, paying for food, and even a millionaire wine importer who wined and dined them for an evening. One man they met on a cliff path told them about salted blackberries, picked right at the very end of the season just before they turned when the flavour was most intense and dusted with the salt from the sea they gorged on them whenever they could find them. They had completed a fair chunk of the route, before stopping and staying with a friend, earning a little money and starting to plan a future once again. Rather than head back to where they had stopped, they came to Poole and started from the other end walking through the Jurassic Coast back to the place that they had stopped a few months previously.
This is a heartwarming and inspiring story of a couples fight back against a life-changing legal decision that left them totally penniless. Winn writes with an honesty that is quite moving, she is open with her feelings and her thoughts about the people she meets on their walk and the events that led to them walking. There are some moments in here that may make you cry as well as some amusing anecdotes that will have you chuckling. What does come across throughout the book is the inner strength of Raynor and Moth, to overcome a financial situation that most could not recover from, the way that Moth manages to use the walk to improve his health and that being in the right place at the right time can offer an opportunity that can be life-changing. If there is one thing that can be taken from this, it is that there is nothing that human optimism can't overcome. 4.5 stars
So this then is their story of this trip, and the things they see and experience. The descriptions and the prose is impressive, vivid. Their descriptions of the physical pain they experience is anguishing. They take up past St. Isaac where my favorite show Doc Martin is made and through Cornwall and it's copper mines, where Poldark is filmed. They have a few run ins with wild life, and meet some quirky characters. They are called old, in their fifties, by many who can't believe they are walking so far. They wild camp, not having the money for campgrounds.
They find out they are stronger than they thought, braver than expected, and feel proud of their accomplishment. The story starts out in darkness, but ends in light, as ........well read the book and find out. Don't think you'll be disappointed.
ARC from Netgalley.
Those who like nature writing; those who appreciate quality narrative non-fiction; those who just want to remember what it is list to be outside.
In a nutshell:
Ray and Moth and in their 50s with two grown children. They have lost their home, which is also their farm and livelihood, to a
Worth quoting:
“Is it human nature to crave ritual? Is it instinctive to construct a safe environment before we allow ourselves to sleep? Can we ever truly rest without that security?”
“Does it take a time of crisis for us to see the plight of the homeless? Must they be escaping a war zone to be in need?”
Why I chose it:
This is the last book I purchased before we went into lock down. I bought it from a bookshop in central London, not realizing that I’d end up reading it during a time when I craved the outdoors.
Review:
There is a lot going on in this book. Not a lot in the sense that plot points keep coming - basically this book is literally just Ray and Moth hiking. But it’s beautifully written, and speaks to how easily one can find oneself without a home, and what people do to try to survive. It’s a bit cheesy to call it inspirational; I’m not about to sell my belongings to go walk 630 miles. But at the same time, it is inspirational. These people found a way to figure out how to keep living their lives when they had no money, no home, and a shit health prognosis.
They are clear about their situations — they don’t have access to unlimited funds and time like some people who choose o take the path. This is what they can think to do while they figure out what to do next. They get some benefits from the government (about £45 per week), so they are able to buy cheap food along the way. But that’s it. They aren’t on some romantic quest to find themselves; they are trying to survive.
Ray speaks about how people they encounter react when Ray and Moth share their situation. If they are ‘just’ backpackers, they’re usually treated with some respect and admiration. When they say that they are homeless, they are treated with disdain, or fear, as though it is catching.
Right now is a weird time. Those of us with homes who are under lock down may be struggling with feeling trapped within it, at times forgetting how wonderful it is to have a home we can be locked down in. There is a reason many countries are suddenly trying to provide shelter for those experiencing homelessness - COVID-19 is a threat to their health when they don’t have access to hand-washing options, or enough food to avoid shops on a daily basis. But not having a home isn’t just a challenge during disease outbreaks; it’s not something anyone should have to experience if they don’t want to, and it is frustrating that so many people don’t care about the people experiencing it.
Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it.
A huge thanks to Rhian for her fabulous review of this one last year which had me adding it to The List. It's every bit as good as she said it was.
The author and her husband lose their house in an investment gone wrong, but along with their house they also lose their livelihood because they used the other buildings on their farm as holiday rentals. As if this weren't enough, the husband is diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, which is fatal. Raynor (the wife) comes up with a crazy idea that they should walk the South West Coastal Path (a distance of 630 miles). They will wild camp along the way because they cannot afford to stay at campsites. The journey will give them time to decided what to do next. And so they do. What results is a lovely bit of travel writing/memoir that is both reflective and heartening. She shares the good and the bad, the heartbreaking and the humorous, and yet it is not maudlin or self-pitying. It is one I know that I will read again. There is a follow up book titled [The Wild Silence] that comes out here in April of 2021 - very exciting!
"How can there be so few individuals who understand the need for people to have a space of their own? Does it take a time of crisis for us to see the plight of the homeless? Must they be escaping a war zone to be in need? As a people, can we only respond to need if we perceive it to be valid? If the homeless of our own country were gathered in a refugee camp, or rode the seas in boats of desperation, would we open our arms to them?"
I walk trails in the UK myself though nothing of this magnitude. I tried wild camping (just finding a likely place and leaving no trace) on the Great Glen Way. I lasted one rainy, cold night and immediately mailed my camping gear back to the USA, opting for B&B's and hostels the rest of the way. I have some idea of what they went through walking day after day with heavy packs and all kinds of weather. But there are great rewards, and Ray details them in this lovely story. Surrounded by nature and away from everyday hassles allows one to really look inside one's self and see what you're made of. From the book:
"Things we thought we would never be able to bear were becoming less jagged, turned into round river stones by the movement of the path. It was still a heavy burden to carry, but just a little less painful to hold."
She also writes poignantly about homelessness in the UK and what it means for thousands of people, mostly homeless through no fault of their own. Ray and Moth have little but they always seem to share what they can with others.
One benefit of walking is the improvement in Moth's health despite the doctor's warnings. His condition is nonreversible, but on the trail, he learns to face his inevitable death and help Ray come to terms with the eventual loss of her loving husband.
There are many funny moments and beautiful descriptions of the Cornish coast. This is a lovely book and well worth reading. As she and Moth say in the book:
“Do we have a plan?” “Course we do. We walk, until we stop walking, and maybe on the way we find some kind of future.” “That’s a good plan.”
This is her tale of a journey living with nature borne out of necessity. A country girl all her life, she and her husband Moth lived in their remote Welsh farm for decades, raising their children there, literally making the house habitable with their own two hands and enjoying a modest income from holidaymakers who came to stay in their barn conversion. When an investment in a good friend's business goes wrong, they find themselves on the hook for outstanding payments to creditors, and in the blink of an eye their house and their business is recovered by the bailiffs. In that same week, Winn's husband Moth is diagnosed with a terminal wasting disease. With no home, no income and a devastating prognosis for her husband, despite his deteriorating health they decide to take themselves off to walk and wild camp the Salt Path, a 600 odd mile path around Britain's south west coast.
This is a beautifully written book about finding one's self in the midst of the most terrible circumstances simply by being at one with nature and the elements. With only £40 in Government money coming in every few weeks, they subsist on the bare minimum of food with woefully sub-standard kit for the conditions, yet somewhere along this journey as two newly homeless people in their 50s they find a reason to go on, a reason to wake up in the morning. It's what lies beyond their journey on the path that becomes most terrifying in all senses.
I love this kind of book that's part travelogue, part homage to nature, and will be making a point of seeking out more titles from the Wainright prize shortlist. If you enjoy Robert Macfarlane type of books, The Salt Path is highly recommended. I'll be keeping an eye out for the follow up The Wild Silence. This is an author who deserves on so many fronts the success she's now carving out as an author.
4 stars - surprisingly beautiful writing.
But the author did,
The result is an inspirational, at times humorous, thought provoking, autobiography with stunning nature writing that complements the narrative of the journey, rather than bogging it down in purple prose.
Highly recommended.
Raynor Winn is an excellent writer. The style is flowing well, never feels constructed or awkward. She navigates along "inspirational" and even "spiritual" subjects without ever getting on my nerves. Mostly because of her
The first chapters I really liked. The emotional roller-coaster of a life spiraling into darkness was very well written. I cried at the scene of the old ewe that decided to die. Also the overall slow trajectory of getting from wrecked anxious couple to strong and independent "salted blackberries" wasn't lost on me. But the middle part of the book I really didn't enjoy. Too slow, not very credible (which is of course weird in a memoir), too repetitive. The little story lines that were sprinkled in felt very much like that: deliberately added because it was missing something. The background stories on the regions they pass through were (again) well-written and mildly interesting, but also clearly filler. From the winter on, it got more interesting again, with less predictable plot and some real development in the situation of the couple.
So all-in-all a nice and somewhat inspiring book, but not great. I really had a problem understanding the WHY of their situation. Surely, if you are in such a dire situation, there must be people you can ask for help. I understand that not many friends can indefinitely accommodate two extra people in their home, but I would expect just about anyone in their 50s to have a bit more social capital than this. I guess these people have just been very inward focused over the pre-book years. If you live in a small rural village for decades and raise two children there and then lose your house and livelihood in such an unjust way, I would imagine some support from neighbours and friends from the village. But maybe I'm wrong.
One more thing: there was one sentiment that this book described very well and which resonated with me: the feeling of dread for the end of a journey. Traveling on a long train ride or flight always has this effect on me. Of course I'm on that flight to get somewhere, I don't particularly enjoy being on a plane, but when the destination comes in sight, I always hope that it will take a little longer. I feel comfortable in the known, settled uncomfortable place I'm in and start dreading the uncertainty of leaving. The last few chapters captured this very well. How you can feel anxious about the nearing end of the journey, however harsh, back-breaking and unsafe your journey is.
This is the most poetic, sincere and raw ode to the power of nature, love and
Even though the situation Raynor and her husband were in is extremely difficult, they are never represented as victims, and they always push on, with a lot of humor. After I finished this I went to look them up online and see what happened afterwards. Because you just care and you're happy to have got to know them.