After an investigation into Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path questioned the truth behind the story, the author has slammed the allegations as ‘grotesquely unfair’.
The bestselling 2018 book details the inspirational ‘real-life’ tale of Raynor and her husband, Moth, who claim they are evicted from their home (a farmhouse in Wales) after they are betrayed by their childhood friend over a bad investment.
Days later, the latter is diagnosed with a terminal neurodegenerative condition – Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) – and the couple decide to pack all their belongings on their back and begin a 630-mile trek along the South West Coastal path.
Penguin described the prize-winning novel as an ‘unflinchingly honest, inspiring and life-affirming true story’.
Sex Education star Gillian Anderson and White Lotus actor Jason Isaacs starred as the couple in a movie adaptation, which came out at the end of May, flinging their story back into the spotlight.
Earlier this week, a new investigation from The Observer unearthed claims that key elements of this tale have not been entirely truthful.
Now, Raynor has called the below claims ‘highly misleading’, and responded to each with counter-evidence.
What are the allegations against The Salt Path?
Delving into the financial claims made in the book, The Observer claims that the couple (real names Sally and Tim Walker) have not been fully transparent.
Per the investigation, Raynor was arrested for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of pounds (reportedly totally around £64,000) from her employer (an estate agent for whom she worked as a bookkeeper).
A relative of Moth’s [James] claims he loaned the couple £100,000 to repay the stolen money in exchange for dropping the criminal charges.
This claim contradicts the narrative in the book which outlines that their financial issues stem from when they were forced to repay a debt they couldn’t afford to one of Moth’s childhood friends, Cooper, after a poor investment in one of his companies.
Unlike in The Salt Path which says James took them to court to recoup the debt, The Observer found the debt they owed to James was ultimately transferred to two men to whom he owed money.
‘Her claims that it was all just a business deal that went wrong really upset me. When really she had embezzled the money from my husband. It made me feel sick,’ Hemmings (wife of the man who Raynor is believed to have stole the £64,000 from) told the publication.
Meanwhile, although the book hinges on the idea that the Walkers were left effectively homeless, according to The Observer uncovered documents show that the couple owned a property in South West France which they had previously visited.
What has been claimed about Moth’s medical condition?
There has also been doubt cast over Moth’s medical condition, which he was first diagnosed with 18 years ago.
The NHS website says that this disease produces ‘gradually worsening problems with movement, speech, memory and swallowing’.
It also confirms that there is currently ‘no treatment’ and ‘the average life expectancy for someone with CBD is around six to eight years’.
Although the book explores the impact of this on Moth, over the course of the now three books Raynor has written detailing various walks the pair have undergone, his condition seems to have conversely improved.
Prof Michele Hu, a consultant neurologist and professor of clinical neurosciences at Oxford University, told The Observer that she would be ‘very sceptical that it is corticobasal’.
What has author Raynor Winn said about the allegations?
Raynor has said that she has had ‘vitriol poured on me from all quarters’ and ‘threats’ directed at herself and her family as she confirmed she is seeking legal advice.
She characterised The Observer investigation as ‘grotesquely unfair [and] highly misleading’ which ‘seeks to systematically pick apart my life’ but she has been inspired by the lessons she learnt in The Salt Path to speak up.
The statement detailed that the book is ‘not about every event or moment in our lives’ but rather ‘a capsule of time when our lives moved from a place of complete despair to a place of hope.’
Then, claimed that The Observer were offered a chance to discuss the allegations to ‘correct their inaccurate account’ by Raynor’s lawyer but declined.
Divided into six sections, the statement addresses the claims made around Moth’s health condition, the embezzlement of money, the circumstances around the loss of their home, the property in France and their changed names.
Regarding Moth’s health condition, she says the ‘utterly vile, unfair, and false suggestion has emotionally devastated Moth’.
She has provided two clinic letters discussing Moth’s medical condition ‘on the advice of his neurologist’.
The writer has clarified that going forward Moth’s condition will be referred to as Corticobasal Syndrome (CBS) as this is the ‘clinical diagnosis which describes the symptoms observed during life’.
Calling this the ‘most unbearable of the allegations’ she added: ‘I have never sought to offer medical advice in my books or suggest that walking might be some sort of miracle cure for CBS.
‘I am simply charting Moth’s own personal journey and battle with his illness, and what has helped him.’
‘As I’ve explained many times in my books, we will always be grateful that Moth’s version of CBS is indolent, its slow progression has allowed us time to discover how walking helps him. Others aren’t so lucky,’ she concluded.
Regarding the allegation of the embezzlement of money, Raynor says the dispute with Martin Hemmings is not the case discussed in The Salt Path ‘nor did it result in us losing our home’.
‘Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry,’ she said regarding the Hemmings debacle.
Raynor explains that ‘a part of that settlement was that I would pay money to Mr Hemmings on a “non-admissions basis”. This is why we needed the money back from Cooper [the childhood friend] that we invested.’
The recount of how they lost their home echoes what was described in The Salt Path and, in acknowledgement of The Observer finding a ‘book-based house raffle’ said the ‘quickly realised it was a mistake’ and refunded participants.
Regarding the property in France, Raynor describes the home as ‘an uninhabitable ruin in a bramble patch’ with ‘missing walls, a collapsed roof, no running water, drainage, or electricity’.
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According to Raynor, the property shown in a video accompanying the Observer investigation is not the same as the one they own.
She claims they have never lived there, haven’t visited since 2007 and have ‘no debts outstanding’. They were also told the land was ‘virtually worthless’.
Elsewhere in the statement, Raynor says they have ‘no debts’ adding that ‘over the subsequent years I tracked down our remaining debts and now believe I have tracked down and repaid everyone’.
She also rebutted further claims by adding, ‘we have never used it as our legal address for the purpose of avoiding debt.’
Finally, she explains the origins of their new names (moving from Sally and Tim to Raynor and Moth) as affectionate nicknames, claryfing ‘there is nothing hiding in our names’.
The full statement can be found here.
Discourse about The Observer’s claims has swept social media as backlash against the couple rises.
Where are Raynor and Moth now?
The couple, now both in their 60s, confirmed they are no longer homeless.
In an interview with Country Living, Raynor said: ‘After hearing our story, a kind stranger offered us a flat at the back of an old chapel.
‘We moved to a beautiful Cornish village and Moth began a degree in horticulture and garden design. In many ways, we were so lucky…’
The author explained that she started writing The Salt Path as a way to commemorate what her and Moth had done as his ‘illness progressed’ and that she was encouraged to submit the manuscript by her daughter.
She also credits the rewilding project on their Cornish farm with helping alleviate Moth’s symptoms.
‘As the landscape has become healthier, so has he. Nothing will cure his disease, but we’ve found a way to keep it at bay,’ she added.
At the end of her third book, Landlines, which recounts the 1000-mile walk from Scotland to the South West Coast Path she explains that ‘the old DAT scan [of Moth’s brain] showing an abnormal reading, and this, the new one, showing a normal reading.’
What have Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs said about their real life counterparts?
Both Anderson, 56, and Isaacs, 62, have also shared their own thoughts on the real-life people they were portraying.
‘I was surprised at how guarded she was. Of course, it must be strange: you’ve got two relatively famous actors who are going to play you showing up at your house.
‘But it was interesting to encounter a certain steeliness. It was informative for me to see that,’ the actor told the Guardian about her impressions of Raynor.
Describing his own time with Moth, Isaacs told Collider: ‘ He’s the most lovely person I’ve ever met. Everyone who ever meets him falls completely in love with him. When you see the two of them together, they’re so devoted to each other.’
Metro has reached out to Raynor Winn’s, Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs’ representatives, Black Bear and Penguin for comment.
This article was first published on July 7, 2025.
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