The Salt Path

The Salt Path: A Memoir (2018) is a work of nonfiction and the first book by Raynor Winn. It follows the story of Winn and her husband, Moth, over a two-year period after they lose their home. Moth was also diagnosed with a gradually progressing degenerative disease. With few other options and no clear path for rebuilding their lives, they decide to hike the South West Coast Path, a 630-mile trail that runs along the southwest corner of the United Kingdom. The narrative is mostly told linearly and discusses their struggle to come to terms with their new circumstances as unhoused people uncertain of how long Moth has left to live. The book was shortlisted for several prizes, including the Costa Book Award, and named a best book of 2019 by NPR’s Book Concierge. Production of a movie adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs began in 2023.

This guide refers to the 2019 edition published by Penguin Books.

Plot Summary

The prologue shows Moth and Winn struggling to relocate their camping gear as the incoming tide floods their campsite. Raynor is impressed by Moth’s physical abilities, which have recently been limited.

The narrative moves back in time. Moth and Winn struggle to deal with the immediate aftermath of losing a court case. They are evicted from their home, a farm and inn that is also their primary source of income. Moth is diagnosed with a gradually progressing degenerative disorder. Having no good options, they decide to hike the South West Coast Path. They stay with friends but feel like a burden as they prepare for the hike.

As Moth and Raynor continue to prepare for their hike, they learn to anticipate various obstacles. They are delayed as Moth has a particularly bad experience with his chronic pain. When they finally set out, they come across various people who scoff at their plan. Moth suffers from the chronic pain of his condition while Raynor also deals with a variety of aches and pains of age. They also experience The Stigma of Life on the Margins when they tell people, or people notice, that they are unhoused.

Moth is mistaken for someone named Simon Armitage a few times, but neither he nor Raynor has any idea who this is. He goes through periods of despondency, and they realize that they failed to pack his medication. They are forced to stop for a few days as he goes through withdrawal. He emerges feeling more clear-headed. Things eventually seem to be improving for them. They cross paths with two young hikers, Josh and Adam, whom they had seen earlier in a group of four. Two of their party left, which slowed them down. The pair are almost done with their hike, and they refer to Moth and Raynor as “lucky bastards.”

Moth and Raynor get into a rhythm, but they also run out of water and food. They end up spending the night with Grant, a wealthy wine merchant, and the three beautiful women who accompany him. Grant mistakes Moth for Armitage, and Raynor gets jealous when two of the women give Moth a massage. At one point, Raynor steals fudge from a snack hut. They also spend some time with some surfers who are seasonal workers; they liken Moth to a wave. They encounter a destitute unhoused man who curses at them. When they are low on cash, Moth reads Beowulf to collect coins, recognizing that he is likely to be confused for Armitage again.

Raynor and Moth close in on Land’s End, their destination. They stop in Zennor, a town known for a legend of a mermaid, and they get caught in a big storm. They encounter a woman who tells them that they have been touched by the path, and they camp along the beach, at one point getting caught in high tide. They recognize that Moth’s symptoms have improved. They arrive at Land’s End in the middle of a big storm, uncertain of what to do next, but they decide to continue hiking. They come upon an outdoor theater, where a stranger buys them tickets to see the opera. Further along the path, they encounter an older woman who is looking for the house of her old writer friend who passed away. With the cold weather, Moth’s condition deteriorates, though he tries to hide it. They come to a marker indicating that they’ve hiked half the trail, 315 miles. Polly, a long-term friend, calls them and tells them that they can stay in her shed for the winter.

The pair stays in Polly’s shed and fixes it up for a few months. Moth’s health deteriorates. They visit his doctor, who feels that the hike accelerated his condition. Raynor looks for work but struggles to find anything because she doesn’t have much documented work history. Eventually, her friend Polly helps her to find work in a sheep shearing team. The days are long. Moth develops a plan to return to school to become an educator. They have a few months before school starts, and they hope that financial aid will allow them to rent an apartment. In the meantime, they decide to hike the rest of the South West Coast Path.

This time, they start their hike from the opposite end. The terrain is easier, and they are friends with Dave and Julie, fellow backpackers with whom they cross paths several times. Raynor gets sick, and they are forced to spend the extra money on a B&B for a few days while she recovers. Back on the trail, they are invited to spend the night in informal housing in the forest by John and Gav, two unhoused men. A pole on their tent breaks and Dave helps them to repair it before he and Julie catch a bus to head out. Moth feels better once again. They enter an area filled with RV camps and find it hard to find a place to camp, so they camp on a golf course. They decide to take a train to skip this section. They are forced to spend one night sleeping in a town, where they meet Colin, a destitute but kindly unhoused man who is harassed by another unhoused man. At a café, they tell a woman their story. She offers to rent them an apartment that she owns that is close to the path and the university that Moth will attend.