The Salt Path (The Film)

Yes, I think I must be nasty too, but I’d be more inclined to describe myself as extremely sceptical

undines

Gosh how nasty some people are. Losing the farm and home they'd put so much into, husband so ill, homeless, penniless - who dares to judge? And who would like to make a best selling novel from it? Gransnet teaches me how lacking in kindness people can be

I’m not ashamed to judge that to steal from people who are workng hard to make a living is an even more “nasty” thing to do.

Lathyrus3

SpringsEternal

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and certainly didn't see them as scroungers or middle class hikers. They set off in desperation, with bailiffs banging on the door and lived on very meagre rations. In the same week that they were evicted, Moth was told that he had a life limiting illness for which there is no cure and no treatment. He was advised to take it easy and be careful on the stairs. After about 200 miles of wild camping his health actually improved. So I found both the book and the film uplifting, but I'm glad I listened to the book first.

The “free nights camping and a couple of chocolate bars “ weren’t free.

They were taken from ordinary people trying to make a living by workng hard to make a living, They had to pay to keep the campsite and stock the shop with the chocolate that you seem to think was “free”.

Quite!

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

Read the book and thought it described a couple of scroungers and didn't believe half of it.

I enjoyed the book and have tickets to see the film on Monday evening with a friend. They walked in many places that I know well so I'm really looking forward to seeing them on film. Reading some of the posts I'm wondering if we read the same book, I found their approach to dealing with their problems, if not inspirational, certainly unique. Raynor is a talented writer.

I saw the film last Sunday. I had read the book a while ago.
The film was like watching paint dry l was so bored l could have gone to sleep. Very disappointed after all the hype.

My daughter went to see the film last night. She thought it was awful and was very disappointed.

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.

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 🤣

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.

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.

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.

not an ounce of sympathy, empathy or compassion

Yup.

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

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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…

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 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’.

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.

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.

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.

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.