Raynor Winn

This surprised me, how well written it was that it engaged me as much as it did.

To the point that it momentarily prodded a creative urge, which is unheard of! Made me think for a moment of trying to write a journey experience, as an exercise in seeing more in my surroundings, reflecting on how the experience is impacting me, what personal history colours it.

At the same time, Winn is a storyteller, using tensions, slow reveals, momentum - it's fun to see how she weaves the story.

I was show more interested in the walk, what they saw, the hardships of living on the path, but I found the insights into living on the poverty line, and living with a progressive serious illness - that was another dimension, making the book much more than a travel experience. show less

Every once and awhile a book comes along that reaches out and speaks to all your senses, and The Salt Path by Raynor Winn was such a book for me. This is an uplifting memoir of a couple, Raynor and Moth Winn, who lose their house and livelihood through a bad investment. The day after losing their court battle, a doctor advises them that Moth had an incurable degenerative brain disease. Homeless and uncertain about their future or how to proceed with life, they walk. They choose to walk the show more 630 mile long South West Coast Path which follows the coastline of Somerset, North and South Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

This would be a huge undertaking for anyone but for this couple, their age, financial situation and Moth’s disabilities made this an almost impossible undertaking. The author isn’t looking for pity and she doesn’t sugar-coat the situation but describes all the ups and downs they encounter along the way. This was a difficult undertaking yet somehow this trek with it’s views, wildlife, and freedom allowed them to accept and come to terms with their situation. Even having to cut their trip short due to winter setting in didn’t stop them, they returned the next summer and completed their journey.

The Salt Path was a powerful life-affirming story that the author tells in a realistic, humorous manner. As I followed the story I was googling the villages and beaches that were mentioned and I was amazed at the scenery, but this was so much more than a travel story. This couple totally won my heart with their affection and care for each other as well as the author’s honest and beautiful writing. show less

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a big fan of books written by people who test themselves by long, cross-country trips. It doesn’t matter whether they are walking, riding bicycles or motorbikes, boating, or even driving, I’ve always envied the authors. But now something a little different has come along: Raynor Winn has written a long-walk kind of memoir with a twist. The Salt Path is about the 630-mile walk along part of England’s southern coast that Raynor and her husband show more “Moth” took on only because they suddenly found themselves homeless and jobless. Needless to say, this time around I don’t envy the author one little bit.

It could perhaps be argued that Raynor and Moth brought their problems upon themselves, but the only thing they were really guilty of was being a little too naive and trusting when it came to doing business with a man Moth had known since childhood. When that man’s business failed, he wasted little time coming after the couple’s home and business to compensate himself for their supposed share of the failed company’s debts and obligations. Raynor and Moth tried to defend themselves in court, but not being able to afford a competent attorney turned out to be their downfall- and at the end, they were left with only a few days to vacate the property. Everything they owned, and life as they knew it, was gone.

Well, it could just not get much worse than that, could it? The short answer is “yes, it could,” and it does exactly that when within a matter of days of losing their home and everything they own, Moth is diagnosed with an illness likely to claim his life within five years. So, with no place to go, and no money other than the minimal benefits they are eligible for each month, Raynor and Moth begin walking westward along England’s southern coast even though they have no idea what they will do once they come to the end of the trail months later.

The Salt Path is Winn’s account of what it was like for two people in their fifties to strap rather heavy packs onto their backs and trudge along during daylight hours without having any idea where they will be pitching their tent at the end of the day. Along the way, the pair endures the heat of the day, cold and wet nights that make it near impossible to sleep, the constant problem of finding enough water to keep themselves safely hydrated, and living on whatever meager diet they can afford. And if that is not already bad enough, they have to live with the societal stigma of being homeless when people they encounter along the way more times than not treat them as if they are carrying the plague simply because they are homeless. It is almost as if homelessness is a contagious disease.

Bottom Line: Sad as The Salt Path is, for this reader the saddest part of all is the way that their fellow citizens treat Ray and Moth as soon as they learn that the couple are not voluntary hikers/campers out on some lark. This is particularly disappointing when the penny drops in the middle of a conversation and Ray and Moth’s new “friends” abruptly excuse themselves and leave the area as quickly as their feet can carry them away. The Salt Path has a sequel titled The Wild Silence, but I’m not sure that I’m up to reading that one just yet. show less

I bought this book for its lovely cover and title. It's a charming book full of weather, wind and water. Mainly a book about the writing of another book [b:The Salt Path|38085814|The Salt Path|Raynor Winn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520119402l/38085814._SY75_.jpg|59753071], as well as describing a hike in Iceland. But not having read The Salt Path, I think it stands on its own. I enjoyed Raynor Winn's writing with its layers of effortless metaphor. show more

She's able to move through time and space lightly. A heartfelt, sometimes molecular, song to her relationship with her husband Moth, for whom she has begun to grieve. I see it now as a desperately sad (almost clinging) story of love and loss.

I looked back to Moth, but he wasn't at my shoulder. Two hundred metres behind , a figure stood on a boulder; he wouldn't have been visible if it hadn't been for the blue cover of his rucksack. Green waterproof arms outstretched, wrapped by the wild air, in a moment of acceptance of the raw blankness of the landscape. I closed my eyes feeling the same wind he did, imprinting the sight of him as he would always be for me; free in the wide embrace of the natural world. (p. 243)

Raynor Winn also introduced me to the ancient celtic idea of 'thin places' where the veil between this world and the eternal world is thin. A thin place is where one can walk in two worlds – the worlds are fused together, knitted loosely where the differences can be discerned or tightly where the two worlds become one.

I'm now looking forward to [b:The Salt Path|38085814|The Salt Path|Raynor Winn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520119402l/38085814._SY75_.jpg|59753071] because I once did a six day walk (in bare feet, sleeping rough) along the inter-tidal zone between Point Lonsdale and Apollo Bay on the south-west coast of Victoria. My walk was only about 200km and there was no path. For me, it was all about distant headlands, tides, winds and weather - about which Raynor writes so beautifully. show less