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The South West Coast Path is a National Trail in England, and at 630 miles is the country’s longest footpath. Husband and wife Moth and Raynor Winn set out on the path while in their 50s in 2013 after being dealt a slew of bad cards: they lost money in a bad business deal, which resulted in their losing their home in Wales, and Moth was given a terminal diagnosis. At rock bottom, the couple hit the trail and camped in the wild. At the end of their trek, the Winns said Moth’s illness had all but disappeared. Raynor detailed their experience in the 2018 memoir The Salt Path, which has sold over 2 million copies and was recently made into a movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. There’s just one problem: it isn’t all true. There’s truthiness to it, like the fact that the couple hit the road after incurring debt. But instead of them being the victims of a bad deal, turns out Moth and Raynor Winn — real names Tim and Sally Walker — actually embezzled money and left to flee collectors, as The Observer just exposed:
Fiction: In the book, Winn said she and her husband Moth lost a substantial sum of money after making a bad investment in a friend’s business, which left them liable for his debts when the company failed. She said it ultimately led to the couple losing their home. Around the same time, Winn wrote, Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which usually has a life expectancy of around six to eight years. Winn said after she and Moth became homeless and Moth was diagnosed with CBD, the couple decided in 2013 to set off on the South West Coast Path. The book documents the pair eventually walking the full 630-mile route, living off a small amount of money in weekly tax credits each week, and wild camping every night. … The book ends with the couple getting a fresh start with the offer of new accommodation. As a result of the walk, Winn says her husband’s health improved, and he has now lived for 12 years since the diagnosis.
Non-Fiction, courtesy of The Observer: The investigation claims the couple lost their home in North Wales after Winn defrauded her employer of £64,000, and not in a bad business deal as she originally suggested. The couple reportedly borrowed £100,000 with 18% interest, secured against their house, from a distant relative, in order to repay the money she had been accused of stealing. The Observer said the couple also had a £230,000 mortgage on the same property, meaning that their combined debts exceeded the value of the house. The couple’s home was then reportedly repossessed after they were sued to recover the money they had borrowed. … The newspaper also said it had spoken to medical experts who were sceptical about Moth having CBD, given his long survival after diagnosis, lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them. It also reports that Raynor and Moth Winn are not the couple’s real names.
Raynor’s rebuttal: In a statement released via literary agents Graham Maw Christie, Winn said: “Today’s Observer article is highly misleading. We are taking legal advice and won’t be making any further comment at this time.” The statement continued: “The Salt Path lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives. This is the true story of our journey.”
If you’re like me, the first red flag came with the name “Moth.” I spent the early part of this article thinking, “Who names a kid Moth?!” But then I checked myself, saying, “Come on Kismet, you love unusual names. Look at Butterfly McQueen! Why is ‘Butterfly’ ok but not ‘Moth,’ hmm?” So after addressing and correcting my Lepidoptera biases, I was stung all over again with the revelation of their real name: Walker. You guys, she wrote a book about their 630-mile walk… and didn’t use the gift of their surname Walker! I understand the nom de plume was probably to avoid someone tracking them down for the money they stole, but I still think not using the name Walker for a walking book has to be some sort of crime in and of itself!
As for suggesting that a degenerative disease could be treated, or even cured, just by taking a hike, that sounds an awful lot like “Vitamin A cures Measles” territory. The thing about this whole story is, Raynor Winn/Sally Walker could have written a powerful memoir based on the facts, honestly holding themselves to account. But recasting themselves as the victims is arrogant, while spreading misinformation about a serious disease is pernicious. As The Observer ended their article: “And people don’t just read and watch The Salt Path, they act on it; people with hopes and health problems, setting off believing that they’re following a true path. The consequences of that may mostly be trivial but there’s the potential, too, for real harm.”
