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

1000 replies

DisappointedReader · 12/07/2025 23:41

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

Thread One ^www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368194-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?^

Thread 2 Thread 2. To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film? | Mumsnet

Thread 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5369425-thread-3-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Thread 4 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5370609-thread-4-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

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.

The real Salt Path: what’s in the book, and what The Obse...

The real Salt Path: what’s in the book, and what The Obse...

Raynor and Moth Winn’s redemptive journey from penury and homelessness led to a bestselling book. The truth behind it is very different

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
31
placemats · 13/07/2025 13:33

Still they persist.

The outcome should be the truth. Just to add that I do feel for those taken in by the reversal of symptoms.

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:35

Underneath that article there are others which outline the arguments so it can all be found on there if you care to look

Lunde · 13/07/2025 13:36

Yeah the Walkers seem to constantly bite the hand that feeds and kick back at anyone who has done them a favour. They seem to have a strong amount of "main character syndrome" where they are always the victims that heroically battle adversity, even when it is of their own invention.

It seems that their "rewilding" of Haye farm was merely letting the weeds grow and doing bugger all. .... yet rushing to pick up an apple if a film crew showed up.

However it raises the question of where they are now. The falling out at the Cider Farm when Moth claimed only months to live happened in 2021-22. Where have they been since then? Have they moved on and changed their names again?

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:36

FurryHappyKittens · 13/07/2025 13:31

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

I'd think it's pretty important they at least try and explain why the farm owner was told Moth only had a few months left to live.

placemats · 13/07/2025 13:36

A person on this thread should be totally ignored and it's a much loved character that was prominent in an inter galactic war.

PrincessLeia94 · 13/07/2025 13:37

PandoraSocks · 13/07/2025 11:53

No acknowledgement of any of the other of the author’s rebuttals

Fact and fiction: Raynor Winn won’t talk to us. But here... share.google/gzBmgPszPrFGHpt2A

And have you actually read that article? If you had, you would see that apart from the CBD, none of the other explanations made by the author have been addressed.

The Observer clearly have been caught out lying about the CBD/CBS issue, the letters shared by the author proving that a diagnosis was indeed made. Whether or not people choose to believe it is a different matter, but to me it is fairly clear that the Observer have lost all credibility by a) failing to apologise for their mistake regarding the CBD diagnosis and b) not responding to any of the other responses made by the author.

As for “Raynor Winn won’t talk to us”… why then does the author have a note on her website that she contacted the Observer through her lawyers in order to discuss their allegations and they were not willing to cooperate?

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:38

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:36

I'd think it's pretty important they at least try and explain why the farm owner was told Moth only had a few months left to live.

Their word against ours I would imagine

FurryHappyKittens · 13/07/2025 13:38

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:30

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 want for her next book to be pulped, and at some point in the future I'd like to read that her creditors have pursued any money still owing.

I hope they sell the French property because to leave it go to rack and ruin like they have done is morally criminal. Particularly because they advertise themselves as loving nature etc. etc.

I also want Penguin to announce they will be doing more due diligence in the future.

If there is more to be found, I'd like it to be found, and reported.

But ultimately, if they just disappear from the public eye, and repay more of their debts, I'd just be happy to see the last of them.

Uricon2 · 13/07/2025 13:39

I'd like Raymoth to tell the truth, based on the facts put to them already but I don't think it will happen. I'm not sure if we will get another "essay" as Chloe H. described the long statement last week or if they will now lay low hoping it will all die down.

SmellsLikeTippex · 13/07/2025 13:40

Crikeyalmighty · 13/07/2025 13:18

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

I know nothing about film, but I think it’s highly unlikely to happen with her publishers. RW arguably breached the standard contract in which she takes legal responsibility for the memoir being substantially true, but that book had made Penguin RH a chunk of money. They could decide to cancel On Winter’s Hill altogether and ask her to repay her advance, but if that advance was for a two-book deal of which Landlines was the first part, it makes things slightly more complicated, as that will already have partly earned out some of that advance.

Also, her books sell. As Richard Osman said on TRIE, TSP’s sales will have paid for a lot of other books that sold less well (though I imagine there have been diminishing returns with the subsequent books? I’ve only read the first two but TWS reads very much like someone trying to cobble together something to replicate TSP’s success.)

I think her publishers, having put out a holding notice by saying they’re delaying On Winter’s Hill because of the author’s ‘distress’ at the controversy, will just sit a bit and see where public opinion goes over the next while.

There might or might not be an appetite in a year for a much more apologetic, warts and all ‘We repeatedly fucked up with people and fled to nature’ type of book.

Or, if they have enough money to live comfortably, they may just continue to keep a low profile. There doesn’t ‘need’ to be another book at all, unless they are desperate to ‘put the record straight’.

PrettyDamnCosmic · 13/07/2025 13:40

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

FurryHappyKittens · 13/07/2025 13:41

placemats · 13/07/2025 13:36

A person on this thread should be totally ignored and it's a much loved character that was prominent in an inter galactic war.

I agree with this. Let's not have the thread derailed.

Uricon2 · 13/07/2025 13:41

placemats · 13/07/2025 13:36

A person on this thread should be totally ignored and it's a much loved character that was prominent in an inter galactic war.

Agree. People are not owed a response, especially after one has been given by numerous posters already.

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:41

FurryHappyKittens · 13/07/2025 13:38

I want for her next book to be pulped, and at some point in the future I'd like to read that her creditors have pursued any money still owing.

I hope they sell the French property because to leave it go to rack and ruin like they have done is morally criminal. Particularly because they advertise themselves as loving nature etc. etc.

I also want Penguin to announce they will be doing more due diligence in the future.

If there is more to be found, I'd like it to be found, and reported.

But ultimately, if they just disappear from the public eye, and repay more of their debts, I'd just be happy to see the last of them.

Good point. I definitely want all the creditors to be repaid.

I can't even imagine owning a garage £800 and "forgetting about it". How many more debts must there be to forget that one.

I once drove off without paying at a petrol station due to absent mindedness and rang them mortified the.moment I realised and they were so nice about it and I absolutely made sure I went back there the same day to pay it.

But then I hate owing people even a few pounds

placemats · 13/07/2025 13:41

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:38

Their word against ours I would imagine

But there was a witness who corroborated Bill Cole's account of this conversation taking place. Name is available online and in the newspaper.

Rallentanda · 13/07/2025 13:43

Re: what I'd like to see as an outcome, I think I'd like us all to be more aware of grifters and how convincing - and compelling - they can be.

I'm sure some people on these threads have got people in their lives who have lied to them, and it's been desperately confusing because they're so nice. I know I have.

Practically every week on MN you see someone who is clearly distressed, because of a person like this. Maybe a "partner" who coincidentally wants them to remortgage their house so he can go into some shifty business. (Though they tend not be nice, actually.) Or a sibling who's working on getting the parents to fund their lifestyle.

I just wish we were kind of trained in how to spot one of these people, and also in how to give them a massive swerve.

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:44

Rallentanda · 13/07/2025 13:43

Re: what I'd like to see as an outcome, I think I'd like us all to be more aware of grifters and how convincing - and compelling - they can be.

I'm sure some people on these threads have got people in their lives who have lied to them, and it's been desperately confusing because they're so nice. I know I have.

Practically every week on MN you see someone who is clearly distressed, because of a person like this. Maybe a "partner" who coincidentally wants them to remortgage their house so he can go into some shifty business. (Though they tend not be nice, actually.) Or a sibling who's working on getting the parents to fund their lifestyle.

I just wish we were kind of trained in how to spot one of these people, and also in how to give them a massive swerve.

That's very true too. Another reason why I would love to see basic law on the curriculum for everyone before they finish school

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:45

placemats · 13/07/2025 13:41

But there was a witness who corroborated Bill Cole's account of this conversation taking place. Name is available online and in the newspaper.

Yeah but he’s his mate and acting in bad faith. Or such like

as for the argument that the money they made paid for other books - without knowing what those books are then it’s not clear it matters!!

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:45

And actually, I would love the youtuber shared earlier, who is teaching people how to analyse language to get more prominence. His work is brilliant.and these skills are so important whether dealing with the likes of slippery politicians or con artists and grifters.

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:46

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:45

Yeah but he’s his mate and acting in bad faith. Or such like

as for the argument that the money they made paid for other books - without knowing what those books are then it’s not clear it matters!!

I think most people are going to apply common sense to this and realise who is more likely to be telling the truth here.

Catwith69lives · 13/07/2025 13:46

SmellsLikeTippex · 13/07/2025 13:40

I know nothing about film, but I think it’s highly unlikely to happen with her publishers. RW arguably breached the standard contract in which she takes legal responsibility for the memoir being substantially true, but that book had made Penguin RH a chunk of money. They could decide to cancel On Winter’s Hill altogether and ask her to repay her advance, but if that advance was for a two-book deal of which Landlines was the first part, it makes things slightly more complicated, as that will already have partly earned out some of that advance.

Also, her books sell. As Richard Osman said on TRIE, TSP’s sales will have paid for a lot of other books that sold less well (though I imagine there have been diminishing returns with the subsequent books? I’ve only read the first two but TWS reads very much like someone trying to cobble together something to replicate TSP’s success.)

I think her publishers, having put out a holding notice by saying they’re delaying On Winter’s Hill because of the author’s ‘distress’ at the controversy, will just sit a bit and see where public opinion goes over the next while.

There might or might not be an appetite in a year for a much more apologetic, warts and all ‘We repeatedly fucked up with people and fled to nature’ type of book.

Or, if they have enough money to live comfortably, they may just continue to keep a low profile. There doesn’t ‘need’ to be another book at all, unless they are desperate to ‘put the record straight’.

The Penguin website seems to indicate a revised launch date for "On Winter Hill" of 22/10/2026....

On Winter Hill

On Winter Hill

After a turbulent year, Raynor Winn embarks on the Coast to Coast Walk in winter, unexpectedly alone. Despite 45 years of walking together, setbacks in her husband, Moth's, health have led him to see his decline as inevitable, which Raynor refuses to a...

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320471/on-winter-hill-by-winn-raynor/9780241484586

FurryHappyKittens · 13/07/2025 13:47

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:45

And actually, I would love the youtuber shared earlier, who is teaching people how to analyse language to get more prominence. His work is brilliant.and these skills are so important whether dealing with the likes of slippery politicians or con artists and grifters.

Now I completely agree with that.

Teaching people that what is written can hide things is very important.

I learnt a lot from that video that can be applied to any piece of writing.

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:47

Aspanielstolemysanity · 13/07/2025 13:46

I think most people are going to apply common sense to this and realise who is more likely to be telling the truth here.

Most - but she has a fan base who are refusing to believe anything they’ve read and if she can keep that number up then that’s a win for her

FurryHappyKittens · 13/07/2025 13:48

Bruisername · 13/07/2025 13:45

Yeah but he’s his mate and acting in bad faith. Or such like

as for the argument that the money they made paid for other books - without knowing what those books are then it’s not clear it matters!!

You can't keep saying that about everyone who is discrediting you, though.

PrettyDamnCosmic · 13/07/2025 13:49

Rallentanda · 13/07/2025 13:43

Re: what I'd like to see as an outcome, I think I'd like us all to be more aware of grifters and how convincing - and compelling - they can be.

I'm sure some people on these threads have got people in their lives who have lied to them, and it's been desperately confusing because they're so nice. I know I have.

Practically every week on MN you see someone who is clearly distressed, because of a person like this. Maybe a "partner" who coincidentally wants them to remortgage their house so he can go into some shifty business. (Though they tend not be nice, actually.) Or a sibling who's working on getting the parents to fund their lifestyle.

I just wish we were kind of trained in how to spot one of these people, and also in how to give them a massive swerve.

People like this grifter who mislead a whole bunch of students that he was an MI5 agent. The story was made into a film Rogue Agent & a Netflix documentary series The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hendy-Freegard

Robert Hendy-Freegard - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hendy-Freegard

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