The Salt Path (The Film)

Reputable investigations published today (BBC amongst others) have now found that the story is untrue - and specialists have questioned the medical diagnosis.
The names are false and the woman stole money from her employer amongst others. People in Wales are still waiting to be paid

eddiecat78

Does nobody read previous posts in a thread?
The Observer article has been referred to many many times now

I don’t think they do. Having said that medijess’s post is a very good précis of the article for people who don’t like to click on links.

I saw the film (didn’t read the book) — SO much puffing and panting, after a while my son and I just couldn’t stop giggling —- apologies to other cinema goers! We both thought that Gillian Isaacs’ performance came across as characterless — we found we felt no warmth towards the character, which seemed unusual and curious. Also the story was bizarre — their attitude to the children, the fact that they apparently only had one — ONE — person in the world who was willing to offer to house them temporarily (why on earth didn’t they have any friends?? Family??)… Also, the Moth character clearly had some impressive skills, as shown by his performance as ‘travelling storyteller’ — so why was he not employed or self-employed? I sent my son a link to the Observer scoop yesterday and he was fascinated — he said “we KNEW there was something fishy going on!!’

Does nobody read previous posts in a thread?
The Observer article has been referred to many many times now

There was an interesting article in yesterday's Observer with regard to the back story to this film and it is not very complimentary about the Author. It is called " The Real Salt Path - how the couple behind a bestseller left a trail of debt and deceit"
Sorry I can share the link as my DD sent it to me on Whatsapp.
I probably will watch it when it comes on Netflix or one of the other streaming channels as I like Gillian Anderson too.

Kayteetay1

Not sure if you’ve read the book judging by your comments and suspect you are not speaking from experience regarding homelessness. Believe me you cannot present yourself to the local council and be given a home - those days are long gone. My niece - a single parent was evicted from her private rented property because her landlord could get a higher rent from a new tenant. There is no safeguarding against rogue landlord behaviour such as this. My niece and great niece are now homeless and relying on family and friends to safeguard their belongings and provide somewhere to stay. 1000s are finding themselves homeless through no fault of their own. The welfare state cannot cope with demand. The cinder path is a heartwarming story of love and adventure and I found Ray and Moth to be strong and inspirational characters who overcame the dire circumstances they found themselves in. Highly recommend reading Landlines which is the follow on from the Salt Path.

You need to read the Newspaper articles about this couple. They are not as they seem. The Observer was absolutely categorically sure they were fraudsters and would not have published without verification because they could be sued uphill and down dale for the allegations they make. The couple, the publishers and the film maker would have the money to proceed with litigation so The Observer would have been more careful than they would be with the lowly Jo Public.

Just thought you might be interested in this article in the Observer on Sunday:

'Only last week, I was having lunch when The Salt Path came up in conversation. ‘That’s the one about the woman with the terminally ill husband who went off round Cornwall, wasn’t it?’ said one friend. I responded, perhaps a little heartlessly: ‘Yeah, and then the husband weirdly failed to die and she got a couple of sequels out of it.’

There’s nothing we Brits love more than a story about an underdog battling adversity and the inextinguishable resilience of the human spirit

The twinge of self-reproach I felt then has evaporated. The Observer yesterday carried a report into the background of that book’s author, Raynor Winn, and her husband Moth (real names Sally and Tim Walker), and discovered that many details in her memoir were, to put it delicately, not quite as she claimed.

The inciting incident for The Salt Path was the couple finding themselves homeless and destitute after their ‘forever home’ was taken from them, Wynn wrote, when they invested in a friend’s company which failed – and that faithless friend somehow won a court case assigning their house to him.

The Observer’s reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou, however, discovered evidence that the real reason the Walkers lost their house is that while working as a book-keeper Sally had defrauded the small company she worked for out of £64,000; and that the house became collateral on a loan she took out to reimburse her victims in order to prevent criminal charges being preferred against her. And it appears that even while – according to The Salt Path – the couple were left after the loss of their house with no option but to wild camp in the UK, they owned a property in rural France.

Since then public records have shown five county court judgments against the Walkers between 2011 and 2014, at least one of which came four years before the publication of that bestselling book. A local garage owner who says they still owe him nearly £800 asked the paper’s reporter plaintively: ‘If you see them, can you tell them to pay me? I think they can afford it now.’

As for Tim Walker’s ‘miraculous’ recovery from the degenerative brain disease his wife claimed he had – corticobasal degeneration, or CBD, a particularly savage neurological affliction in the same family as Parkinson’s – the Observer spoke to no fewer than nine specialists in CBD and they are reported as being unanimously ‘sceptical about the length of time he has had it, his lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them’. One said simply that the story ‘does not pass the sniff test’.'

Interesting!

Not sure if you’ve read the book judging by your comments and suspect you are not speaking from experience regarding homelessness. Believe me you cannot present yourself to the local council and be given a home - those days are long gone. My niece - a single parent was evicted from her private rented property because her landlord could get a higher rent from a new tenant. There is no safeguarding against rogue landlord behaviour such as this. My niece and great niece are now homeless and relying on family and friends to safeguard their belongings and provide somewhere to stay. 1000s are finding themselves homeless through no fault of their own. The welfare state cannot cope with demand. The cinder path is a heartwarming story of love and adventure and I found Ray and Moth to be strong and inspirational characters who overcame the dire circumstances they found themselves in. Highly recommend reading Landlines which is the follow on from the Salt Path.

Read the article in The Observer as all is not what it seems with this couple. I read two of her books, didn’t fancy the film and queried why he has survived so long!!!!

Looks as if articles from The Observer already picked up on
Will be interesting to see what comes out further.

Have you all read the latest on Ray and moth?
Saying they are really sally and Tim walker and sally/ray stealing money from her employer, changed their names.
They owned a home in France
She never turned up at the police station the day after been arrested.
Did read the book but somehow didn’t quite add up.
Don’t know what to make of latest allegations.

The book, the film and now the CD!

www.gigspanner.com/shop/details/saltlines

There was an investigative article in a Sunday newspaper this weekend, I think the Observer, saying that the author was dishonest about how they had lost their home. She had defrauded her employer in Wales of large sums of money over a number of years and when this was discovered, she borrowed money from a friend to pay back the money she had stolen in order to avoid criminal proceedings against her. When the friend died she had to pay back this debt and that was how they lost their home. There is also apparently doubt among medical experts about her husband's illness.

Oh I’m so glad to see it’s not just me! Found the book tedious, annoying and disingenuous - I didn’t get past the first few pages. Thought I’d try the film because I felt maybe I was missing something. I love Gillian Anderson and know the SW coast path too, so really hoped I’d enjoy it. Sadly both I and DH found it tedious, annoying and disingenuous in the film version. Even the lovely scenery didn’t lift it for us. Rare for us to recommend NOT watching a film but this is on our list I’m afraid. Don’t bother. Go for a nice walk instead 😁

You all need to read this, it seems their entire story is a pack of lies based on embezzling money, even including the medical diagnosis

observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit

Um I posted the link to the Observer article on here at 0830 yesterday! 😂

You might find this link interesting!

observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit

I’m giving this one a miss. I did want to see it, and read the book. However I have read a couple of articles and seen a report online that paint the whole story in a very different light. I know there’s always a bit of artistic freedom in this sort of thing. As others have said, I might watch it on Netflix or whatever, but by then we may know more of the truth of it.

Nellygran

I do think it's really awful if what has been said in the Observer is true, shocking behaviour. But... there are a lot of people being very judgy here. Can you all maybe just take a look at yourselves - how honest have you been throughout your lives? Have you ever hurt anyone? Taken advantage? Okay, this is large scale deceit and they will definitely need to make amends, but maybe we should all look at our own lives and think about how we can be kinder people and not just jump on the bandwagon of criticism when an opportunity arises.

I have never stolen from anyone and it's really rather outrageous to suggest that other Gransnetters might have acted in a similar way to this couple, even on a smaller scale.
Their story is a work of fiction. They fled from the police and broke the man they stole from.

The least they could do now that they have made so much money is to offer to repay his widow (with interest) and all the other people they stole from along the way.

Nellygran

His real name being Tim....TiMOTHy

Of course 😁

Duh!!

I do think it's really awful if what has been said in the Observer is true, shocking behaviour. But... there are a lot of people being very judgy here. Can you all maybe just take a look at yourselves - how honest have you been throughout your lives? Have you ever hurt anyone? Taken advantage? Okay, this is large scale deceit and they will definitely need to make amends, but maybe we should all look at our own lives and think about how we can be kinder people and not just jump on the bandwagon of criticism when an opportunity arises.

Thread on Mumsnet linked to a newspaper expose...the lady in salt path frauded her employer of sixty four thousand pounds then did a runner. Their house was being repossessed as they couldn't pay a loan so they launched a raffle to sell it ( presumably unlawfully)but it was repossessed by a debt company before they could do that . All very dodgy. I tried to read the book but found it tedious.

Like lafergar , I didn’t buy into the book. A lot of things didn’t add up, not least her “very sick” husband. Not the sort of thing you’d do in the circs…
I’m not at all surprised to find out that it was more fiction than autobiographical, and pleased that my disbelief was well founded.

i have not read every message here but in the ones I have seen am surprised to see no reference to the story in the Observer yesterday - they have talked to a number of people who are saying from first hand knowledge that some key things in the books are not accurate. This includes why they lost their home - a very different picture emerges where Raynor and Moth are not victims at all and Raynor got them into trouble by theft from her employer and then borrowing from a relative, who himself became bankrupt. If what the paper is saying is untrue no doubt the publisher and/or Raynor Winn (not her real name - but many writers use different names) will sue. I liked the books and have felt uncomfortable at the new picture suggested by the Observer article.

See the link I have posted above. I haven't read the book or seen the film, though I was looking forward to seeing it! I'm not sure what to think now! 🤔