The Salt Path (The Film)

Do you have any empathy for the shop owner or the owners of the camping sites who work all day, every day to provide the food and facilities that were stolen from them?

Obviously not.

I have empathy for people like that and you empathiseeith people who steal from them.

Not more more to be said really, is there?

Outcast52. I agree with every word you said!

Well said Outcast, brilliantly put. I was going to post something on a similar vein only not so eloquent.
The posts on here have been mean and miserly . You can almost see the pearl clutching. There but for the grace go they.

Of course stealing is wrong, she could have left those bits out, but she didn't, probably because she wanted the reader to understand how desperate she was. I think it tests our ability to have empathy for others who find themselves in desperate situations and whether we can still have "empathy" for people less fortunate than ourselves even if we feel it is partly their own fault. What I remembered was the kindness shown to others even though she and Moth had nothing, but clearly some people didn't remember that. Oh well, we are all different.

Saw the film yesterday. Read the book a couple of years ago. Enjoyed both. One thing that bothered me, why didn't the husband use a stick or walking poles to help him. They both make such a difference if you have a mobility issue.

I’ve done similar things to the author and her husband. Had a great time.

It’s the stealing from others I think is wrong.

Though a number of people think it’s ok, if it means you can do what you want to do.🤷🏽‍♀️

When I found out that I was pregnant with my first child, thinking that I would never be able to do the sort of things that I had previously done in my life I took a week off work, put the dog and a tent in the back of the car and drove to Cornwall. People on the campsite where I was staying were worried about me when I gleefully told them I was pregnant ( I’d always thought I couldn’t have children) and probably thought I was deranged. So, on reading the book I felt that I might have reacted in the same way as the author did.

Actually don’t steal from other people is a rule that I think we should stick to.

Would I if I or my children were starving. and could do nothing about it, Yes, I expect I would.

We’re Raynor Winn and her husband were not starving. They did “run to the State” and took benefits to fund their life choice. They could have worked and supported themselves.

What they chose to do was live by stealing from other people.
And now they’re benefiting from that, I hope they’re paying back.

We all react differently to crisis and stress. I enjoyed the book. Like most writers I expect she exaggerated facts occasionally but they had had enough of the way their life had been turned upside down, after trying very hard to keep their home. Throwing conventional behaviour out of the window and doing something totally irrational is not unexpected in such circumstances and not to be condemned as so many of you feel. You would steal if you were starving I am sure.
Have we all turned into a nation who all must play by a very rigid set of rules? What a boring world it would be if we all ran to the state when we were in trouble.

Stealing was her choice.

They did have alternatives. But taking from others was what they chose to do.

Let’s not confuse that with desperation.

For those saying it would have been no problem to report themselves homeless and just be given a council house - there are currently 1.3 million on the list and rural areas have very little or no accommodation. Their children, if over 18 and not disabled, would be considered independent so not counted. Even though the husband had a terminal illness they would not take priority. Parents with young children end up in private rented rooms in shared houses. They're the "lucky" ones with a roof over their heads. Children grow up and become ineligible to be housed with their parents whilst on the waiting list. It's pretty desperate.
I've bought the book but haven't started it yet. We saw the film - mixed feelings but generally enjoyed it; especially the gorgeous scenery. The imagination knows no bounds; seeing a film after reading the book can be a little disappointing.
The stealing etc - it's wrong of course and I like to think I wouldn't. I've been in a few very difficult situations and haven't but I'd do pretty well anything for my close loved ones.

I was going to mention earlier that she did write quite a lot about how easy it is to slip into a life of homelessness which is why I feel guilty about finding her irritating. I think when she writes about not paying for things she’s pointing out how any one of us would lose any morals we used to have if we suddenly find ourselves out on the streets. I guess this all goes back to a book that had a great effect on me when I read it in my late teens, Orwell's’ A Clergyman’s Daughter’.

I much preferred the book to the film, although I enjoyed both.
I'm a little surprised at some of the cynical and unkind comments on here.

I went yesterday to see it and the cinema was absolutely packed out
I really did enjoy the book not so much the film, I too found it quite disjointed but the scenery was beautiful and I live in a part of the country that was filmed and lucky to do so…

Sara1954

Outcast52, I’m not smug or self satisfied enough to think this could never possibly happen to me.
But if it did, I wouldn’t drag my sick husband around with me, some of you are quick to point out that Moth actually improved, well I’m sure he would have improved more with long walks in the fresh air, but going home to a warm bed and a cooked meal. You seriously can’t tell me anyone’s health can improve by eating dry noodles.
I read it years ago when it was really being hyped up, but I just didn’t buy it, irresponsible and foolhardy.

Very true. I also believe much of the book is a work of fiction. There is no way she could have laid down in a leaking tent wearing soaking wet clothes and write all that every night.

Unless I missed it there was not a mention of either of their families apart from a passing comment about their kids at Uni.

Outcast52, I’m not smug or self satisfied enough to think this could never possibly happen to me.
But if it did, I wouldn’t drag my sick husband around with me, some of you are quick to point out that Moth actually improved, well I’m sure he would have improved more with long walks in the fresh air, but going home to a warm bed and a cooked meal. You seriously can’t tell me anyone’s health can improve by eating dry noodles.
I read it years ago when it was really being hyped up, but I just didn’t buy it, irresponsible and foolhardy.

Having really enjoyed the book and the sequels I was looking forward to the film. Although the scenery was gorgeous, Jason Issac’s portrayal of Moth was very touching and believable, and I love the Simon Armitage jokes, I was disappointed. It was quite boring compared to the book. And those rabbits! They were a selection of pet bunnies, not wild ones at all, though I can imagine logistical challenges there.

I read the book a while back and enjoyed it although a bit sceptical at some of the details. I went to see the film yesterday hoping to see the spectacle scenery I know so well from many holidays. But I was disappointed, they didn’t follow in order of the coastal path and I saw little of the wonderful area I walked in my younger days. The story was disjointed I felt flashing back and forth. But Gillian Anderson and the man who portrayed Moth were excellent I felt .

Really?

It’s fine to steal from other people? Not rich people who have money to spare , but just ordinary working people, putting in a lot of hours and energy to make a living. But you want a chocolate bar. Well just take it! Obviously taking what you want is more important than any need they might have to support their families.

Actually I have been in a very similar position to Raynor Winn.
A husband diagnosed with a terminal illness, having to quit my job to nurse him, losing the house and surprisingly, piously I didn’t go and steal from anyone else. After he died I went and got a job paid my way.

So yes I do judge anyone who steals from other people aand I do hope she has enough conscience to go and say sorry and recompense them. Though if her attitude is anything like yours, I’m not holding my breath

not an ounce of sympathy, empathy or compassion

Yup.

I'm absolutely stunned and disgusted by the number of thoroughly unpleasant posts on this thread - pious, superior, judgemental, critical - not an ounce of sympathy, empathy or compassion, and in some instances, sceptical, cynical and disbelieving. I suspect many of these carping voices have never read the book and just leapt on the "middle class, professional scroungers" bandwagon.

This couple bought an old, run-down farm and gradually rebuilt and refurbished it into a beloved home where they brought up their family. Via a combination of circumstances, they lost it, fought tenaciously but ultimately unsuccessfully to right the injustices and keep their home and many of these posters simply roll their eyes, label them stupid or arrogant or too mean to pay for legal advice and "brought all this misfortune on themselves". They DID seek legal advice and actually spent all their savings on solicitors' fees - obviously to no avail. Owing to a recent change in the law, there was no access to legail aid for a barrister, so Raynor had no option but to try and defend herself in court. She made one simple error of timing / admin request: how many of us would have the capacity, in those circumstances, to navigate the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the legal / justice system, but of course it was all their own fault! So were they supposed to just say "Oh silly us, ok take our home"?

At almost the same time, they received the devastating diagnosis of Moth's incurable condition. But of course they must have exaggerated, given up too easily, maybe even lied. They couldn't possibly have been so shattered and broken, sent from pillar to post by a deeply unhelpful benefits and housing system that they simply didn't know what to do and fled, in a sense.

How dare you look down on them for "stealing a chocolate bar"? "I hope they went back and paid for it" someone opined. Which of us would not do the same if we were desperate to survive? Does anyone think there might be the slightest chance that those businesses have benefitted hugely from the success of Raynor's book and this new film? Might there have been a massive influx of tourists boosting the economy of that whole region, including the victims of the great chocolate robbery?

And by the way, Raynor wrote the account of their epic journey as a memento for Moth, not in some kind of cynical, grasping decision to make a fortune out of their misfortune. They received great kindness from strangers and dispensed it themselves, even with the little they had.

Raynor has done a huge amount for the homeless in this country, raising awareness and lobbying for change and has donated a good deal of money to associated charities. The despicable attitudes to her and Moth and what they suffered, survived and have achieved are shameful. I hope to goodness that none of you ever have to deal with similar and I hope to God that she never reads this site.

If we all stole the things we wanted then businesses would close - just like theirs did

This is so true Allira.

Living in a holiday destination I've seen this first hand. People who will 'wild camp' in their vans and motorhomes next to a campsite and then sneak in to use their bathrooms, emptying portaloos down street drains and then scooping all their rubbish into the gutter before they go.

One one occasion a young man had a strip wash in a bucket in the lane outside my kitchen window....there is a campsite charging about £15 a night less than 100 metres from my front door.

Tourists seem to lose their minds and all sense of decency when they travel. The small businesses and local communities they exploit have a very short season in which to make a living. It makes me sad when people come here and aren't willing to pay for the services.

It's no so much those that can't afford to pay that bothers me (perhaps that was Raynor and Moth/maybe not) it's those that come in an £80,000 motor home and then park up for the week in the street rather than pay the £15 a night.

In my opinion 'The Man Who Hated Walking: The South West Coast Path' by Overend Watts is a more enjoyable book than The Salt Path.

Overend was a member of Mott the Hoople and he tells a fantastic and very funny story.

This thread's a great example of how different we all are.

Primrose53

In her book she makes out they are so hard done by and everyone is against them.

They were made homeless! All they had to do was contact the council and they would have been rehoused. She seems to be a bit of a snob so my guess is she would rather walk the coast path than live in a council house. 😉

Much of the book was taken up by her complaining that all they had to eat was a fluff covered boiled sweet she found in a pocket or some chips they found near a bin.

I didn’t even get to the end of the book; I found it so depressing. I’d bought it as an audiobook to listen to on t long journey to Cornwall 🤣

I tried to read to book but hated it. I did not like the woman, Raynor …reckless, and selfish . And her poor husband……………

In fact I found the whole thing hard to believe. Trailing round a coast path and living on dandelions and scraps ?

I do not want to see the film.