Thread 6: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The Observer The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...

Second article in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-whats-in-the-book-and-what-the-observer-has-found

Third item in the Observer
https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-salt-path-the-truth-behind-the-blockbuster-book-video

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Thread 5 Thread 5: To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film? | Mumsnet

Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement Raynor Winn

NB Please be careful when it comes to naming or implicating people who aren't in the public eye or have no connection to the story, especially where details are unclear or still emerging i.e. DON'T DO IT.

Keep on the path. No saltiness. Thank you.

New posters welcome. It would be helpful to read at least the three Observer articles before posting.

Tbh some of the responses I’ve seen that suggest she was actually a victim of the hemmings framing her or being incompetent highlights why people are slow to come forward because they are worried they will be lied about and people will believe it because the other party has more power potentially

The money doesn't seem to be with Four Hares as that only has net assets of £4,403. However, even if it was, that wouldn't be a problem. The courts give judgements on debts based on whether the debt exists, not on the debtor's ability to pay. If the debtor tries to argue that they can only afford to pay in instalments, the courts would look at their assets which includes Four Hares Ltd. As that is owned by Sally Walker, it is clearly an asset that can be used to pay of their debts.

Getting round the Limitation Act may be a problem, but how the Walkers hold their income is not.

We're back! That was a bit discombobulating, but made for a far more productive morning. (I also didn't spot the temp thread.)
The Observer seems to be loading smoothly now too.

Absolutely. And let's not forget that at the time only Ros Hemmings knew the whole story because of the NDA. And Ros didn't know about Bill Cole, or probably much if anything about France. She was just one person.

As we all know (😏) the first person who finally comes forward by whatever means can open the floodgates for others, but if you believe you're the only person affected, and you don't know how to speak out to someone who will listen, then you'd stay quiet until someone came to you.

Looking at Moth's trajectory:

• Diagnosed in ~2006/2007.
• Began walking the South West Coast Path in 2013, walking thousands of miles over the next decade.
• As of 2025, he remains alive and able to complete long-distance hikes and even a marathon in 2024

This puts his course at well over 15–18 years since diagnosis, with preserved mobility and quality of life — which is exceptionally rare.

I don't there's ever been an assertion he was diagnosed in 2006/7?

Agreed! Plus, the initial (though slightly slow) rebuttal published on the RW website shows, in my view, that she finds it hard to resist clapping back and reminding everyone of how unfairly they've been treated. On that basis, I would expect that if she can produce a letter from 2013 showing earlier diagnosis and treatment, she will do.

Doesn't there come a time when the specialists conclude that the trajectory of Moth's CBS/CBD is so exceptionally rare that it, er, isn't CBD/CBS? Or is that not how medical diagnosis works?

Here's a Sky News Daily Podcast from yesterday, 18 minutes long in total. One of the comments to it is interesting.

There was a TV programme where an ex-commando walked the SW Coastal Path (some years before, and unrelated to, The Salt Path). He described it as demanding and challenging. If a commando says that, it's clear that someone with a crippling illness is not going to be able to do it, day after day and for several months; all the while actually getting better. Come on .....

This is why I don't think she took any legal advice before posting that drivel "rebuttal". She is so sure of her rightness, and she has to keep spinning the lies.

No lawyer worth their salt (pun intended) would have allowed her to post so much stuff.

They took it at a fairly gentle pace - the first 237 miles were completed at an average of 6.5 miles a day. I suspect the ex-commando was doing significantly more than this each day.

I think that poster may mean that he’d reported symptoms from around then, based on what the consultant is reported as saying at the diagnosis appointment reported in TSP as happening immediately after the court case and before the farm is repossessed.

I suspect they only did parts of it.

@Aspanielstolemysanity. Yep much as the story clearly is of interest and their behaviour seems completely out of order, I’m not sure that the public sniffing them out serves much purpose, lying by omission isn’t illegal and if skipping your debts was , then plenty of the country would be in trouble - personally I think they may have opened a can of worms by selling film rights , that gets them in front of an awful lot of people publicity wise and sadly the public and press appetite for bringing down folks in this situation, usually ones who’ve made a lot of money by playing on public sympathy is insatiable . - see Captain Toms family for details!!!

So interesting - thanks for that. It is also worth commenting that Four Hares has four shareholders. Sally, Tim and their children. I have been wondering why the kids part own it but presumably that means its’ assets were owned by equally by all 4 of them and dividends could be paid to the children as well as the parents.

With a trail of previous debts which might now be £400k with added interest and county court judgements, I imagine it is in the Walkers’ interests to keep their personal wealth low. Better keep on good terms with the kids if they now own half the book royalties!

I do think though they could possibly be sued by the very commercial interests that were paying them - depending on what is in the contracts

NO-ONE should be speculating about or suggesting they do know the current whereabouts of anyone involved in this story. Those who do so presumably want the thread to be pulled, in servjce of their own agendas.

You can't be "brought down" if you've done nothing wrong. You can't be "brought down" for lying, for instance, if - you haven't lied.

I've wondered whether, in view of the apparent ongoing family disputes in the Walker family (loan of £100K@18% from TW's uncle Anthony Browne, the brother of his mother and the critical remarks on LI made by the nephew) whether the extended Walker family get back together very often and also whether SW and TW have gone back to North Wales since they left in 2013.

Seems that they did in May 2025 after the death of TW's father "Sonny". SW's instagram feed (13/5/2025) confirms the date, which coincided with her father in law's funeral in Bangor.

Thinking ahead, what would people like to see as the outcome of all this

I'm certainly not baying for blood. And I think the commercial investors of the 18% loan were business people (once bought from her uncle) so that's on them to have done their due diligence.
I kind of hope RayMoth just are left to live a quiet life but can't get away with scamming anymore

I would like the publishing industry to (as a minimum ) do some real soul searching about how much fact checking should be done before a memoir can be presented as "unflinchingly honest"

And I would really like a basic legal education to be part of the curriculum. Because I find it staggering how many people could read the depiction of the court case and not realise it "didn't pass the sniff test".

And I would like a bit of a reflection on the "guardian reader culture" of loving to read about this very particular kind of genteel poverty /homelessness that has lead to such credulous adoration of grifters like Jack Monroe and RayMoth

I agree that perhaps we have not read the same Observer article, please could you share the one you are referring to?

The one I read is this one here: https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/moth-told-me-he-was-dying-when-a-doctor-had-said-his-brain-scan-was-normal

Which basically goes on a complete red herring and apart from the brief acknowledgment that the CBD diagnosis was real, makes no attempt to respond to any of the author’s rebuttal.

To me, the sole fact that the Observer is unwilling to apologise for the fact that they made a mistake regarding the diagnosis is enough for them to lose all credibility. The letters shared by the author on her website clearly make mention of a CBD/CBS diagnosis - and at the time, they could not have known that the husband was going to survive that long (which is made apparent if one actually reads the book).

I would be interested to read the article you read to compare! Thank you.

I wish MN would stop taking these threads down. I was half way through reading it this morning, went to get another cup of coffee, and when I came back it had been hidden.

Does anyone know if this discussion topic has moved to another forum?

I wonder if she'll find it irresistable to react to the Observer's piece today.