Thread 13: 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's original exposé: The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...

The 12 Observer reports currently available online: The real Salt Path | The Observer

Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement: Raynor Winn

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

Threads 2-11: Links all in the OP of Thread 12

Thread 12: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5384574-thread-12-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

New posters joining us in the genuine spirit of our civil discourse welcome. It would be helpful to read at least some of the Observer items above before posting. There are currently 12 interesting items on The Observer website and linked to above.

To all - Please be extremely cautious when it comes to naming or implicating people and addresses not in the public eye or with no direct connection to the story, and around the understandable health speculations, especially where details are unclear or still emerging. Please do not engage with visitors who seem to have their own agenda and seek to derail. Avoid @'ing and quoting them as - from experience - this will only encourage them back to the threads. We have done amazingly well together for twelve very interesting, very serious and very silly threads so far. I can't be here as much as I'd like so all help with keeping our discussion walking along in our usual reasonable and respectful fashion is very welcome.

Have the sales or thefts of fudge gone up recently?
Will Simon's head ever turn up?
Has the shed of doubt yet burst at the seams?
Will the old charabanc hold up as a tour bus for our hip new band The Drive-By Scolders?
And finally, how much salt can we possibly cram into a giant pinch?

Keep to the path. No saltiness. May the fudge be with you.

NO POSTS PLEASE UNTIL THREAD 12 IS FULL

TIMELINE PART ONE – 1960 to July 2013

Please do not quote this post!!!

1960
Timothy (Tim) Ronald Walker born in Burton-upon-Trent Registration District (FreeBMD)

1962
Sally Ann Winn born in Melton Mowbray Registration District (FreeBMD)

Early 1980s
Tim Walker and Sally Winn meet at college (The Salt Path, 2018)

1986
Timothy Ronald Walker (father a Master Plasterer) and Sally Ann Winn (father a Farm Stockman) marry on Skye; (Scotland’s People)

c. 1988 – c. 1991
Sally Walker states she worked at the local court in the fines department, worked her way up, then was offered the opportunity to study; she completed two years of a law degree, whilst working full time and having two children, as well as renovating their house, and growing vegetables (Career Interrupted podcast, No money No home No plan…, 19 June 2025)

1980s/90s
Tim Walker an eco-activist according to Sally Walker (Independent, The Salt Path One woman’s journey…, 23 August 2018)

Early 1990s
Sally Walker says Tim invested in a friend’s property portfolio (Raynor Winn website, Sally Walker’s statement, July 2025)

? – 1994
Tim Walker states he was working as Master Plasterer for family business in Staffordshire; wife Sally Walker was a Law Clerk from Gwynedd (BBC Wales North West, The life of a garden, 7 September 2004)

1994
Tim Walker says he and Sally left their jobs, sold their house in Staffordshire due to young son wandering into road where they live, and moved to rented house in Criccieth (BBC Wales North West, The life of a garden, 7 September 2004)

1994
Walkers bought ‘dilapidated’ Pen y Maes, and Tim, mentioning a botany degree, began volunteering at the National Trust’s Plas yn Rhiw garden (BBC Wales North West, The life of a garden, 7 September 2004)

1995
Tim Walker employed as gardener at Plas yn Rhiw (BBC Wales North West, The life of a garden, 7 September 2004)

Late 1990s
Ros Hemmings states she met Tim Walker when he was the gardener at Plas yn Rhiw, and she worked in the house there (Observer, The Slow Newscast, The real Salt Path, 29 July 2025)

Early 2000s
Tim Walker was head gardener at Plas yn Rhiw (The Daily Mail, Couple whose memoir inspired hit film, btl comment by Pwhlleli local, 6 July 2025)

c. 2000/02 (date not confirmed as Ros Hemmings unsure of exact date)
Ros Hemmings states Sally Walker told her she had been made redundant from a hotel in Abersoch (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025)

c. 2000/02 (date not confirmed as per above)
Ros Hemmings says Sally Walker began working part time for her husband Martin Hemmings in Pwllheli (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025)

2004
Tim Walker worked at Plas yn Rhiw (BBC Wales North West, The life of a garden, 7 September 2004)

2004
Tim Walker, his brother, and their families, photographed by local resident at Village du Dropt property (The Daily Mail, The Salt Path secret, 15 July 2025)

c. 2004
Ros Hemmings states that Tim Walker left his job at Plas yn Rhiw in ‘I think, 2004’ (Observer ‘The Slow Newscast’ podcast, 29 July 2025)

2007
Tim Walker bought the house at Village du Dropt, with a little land. The property was run down but habitable at this time according to a local resident (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025) Pigeonnier owned by his brother (The Daily Mail, The Salt Path secret, 15 July 2025)

c. Easter 2008
Martin and Ros Hemmings discovered potential embezzlement of £9000 (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025)

2008
Sally Walker repayed ‘several thousands’ to the Hemmings (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025) She said Martin Hemmings had lent her the money (Observer ‘The Slow Newscast’ podcast, 29 July 2025)

2008
The Hemmings discovered more serious potential embezzlement of over £60,000, and went to the police (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025); the amount was between £60,000 and £70,000 (Observer ‘The Slow Newscast’ podcast, 29 July 2025)

2008
Sally Walker arrested and bailed, with instructions to return to the police station the following day. She disappeared (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025)

2008
Sally Walker loaned £100,000 at 18% pa by Tim’s relative “James” with house as collateral (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025); Sally Walker says she was loaned £100,000 by “Cooper”, an old friend, at 18% pa with house as collateral (Raynor Winn website, Sally Walker’s statement, July 2025)

2008
Stolen money returned to Martin Hemmings, who dropped the case (Observer, ‘She broke the trust’ video, 6 July 2025); Hemmings agreed to an NDA (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

2008/09
“James”’ business went bust (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

c. 2009/2010
Loan transferred to two creditors of “James” (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

January 2010
Pen y Maes listed for sale for £395,000 (Zoopla)

March 2011
Pen y Maes on the market for £435,000 (Escape to the Country TV show)

2011-14
At least five county court judgements against the Walkers (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

March 2012
Gangani Publishing Ltd was set up with Tim Walker as Director and Tim Walker and Sally Walker as joint shareholders (Companies House)

2012
Gangani published How Not to Dal dy Dir by Izzy Wyn-Thomas (Sally Walker). Those who bought the book told they were entered into a prize draw to win a house in Wales‘free from mortgage or any other legal…charge’ (Observer ‘The Slow Newscast’ podcast, 29 July 2025; Gangani Publishing, 2012)

February 2012
Creditors called in the loan, then exceeding £150,000. Judge ordered payment within 12 months or house would be repossessed (Observer, The Salt Path what’s in the book and what The Observer has found, 6 July 2025)

2012
Martin Hemmings died (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

2013
Sally Walker says they were told by clinicians that Tim ‘probably wouldn’t last two years’ (Independent, The Salt Path One woman’s journey…, 23 August 2018)

2013
Sally Walker says she refunded those who had entered the prize draw (Raynor Winn website, Sally Walker’s statement, July 2025)

June 2013
Pen y Maes repossessed (The Salt Path, 2018); The Walkers left under cover of darkness according to a local farmer (The Times, The Salt Path scandal: what Raynor Winn’s former neighbours think, 11 July 2025); The Walkers hid under the stairs as the bailiffs arrived (The Salt Path, 2018)

July 2013
Gangani Publishing Ltd dissolved (Companies House)

Please do not quote this post!!!

TIMELINE PART TWO – August 2013 to present

Please do not quote this post!!!

Early August 2013
Sally Walker states her and Tim began a walk along the SWCP one Thursday (The Salt Path, 2018)

29 August – 17 September 2013
Simon Armitage walked from Minehead to Land’s End (Guardian, Simon Armitage to walk south-west coast path, 19 February 2013)

October 2013
According to Sally Walker first part of walk ended at Polruan (The Salt Path, 2018)

Mid July – early September 2014
Walk recommenced at Poole, and concluded at Polruan, according to Sally Walker (The Salt Path, 2018)

25 June 2015
Tim Walker diagnosed with possible corticobasal syndrome symptoms (CBS), although these symptoms are ‘indolent’ and ‘mild’ (Raynor Winn website, medical letters, released July 2025)

Autumn 2015
Tim Walker began an HND or BSc Horticulture (Garden and Landscape Design), with full student loan, at University of Plymouth, in conjunction with the Eden Project (Falmouth Packet, Eden students take award winning garden to Hampton Court Flower Show, 8 July 2016); Sally Walker states her husband began a BSc in Horticulture (The Salt Path, 2018)

2016
“James” died (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

25 July 2016
Pen y Maes sold for £280,000 to Maxine Farrimond (Land Registry; Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

July 2016
Farrimond started receiving letters: debt collection agencies, speeding fines, credit card bills and other unpaid bills addressed to the Walkers (Observer, The real Salt Path, 5 July 2025)

February 2017
Walkers travelled to Iceland for walking holiday (Raynor Winn Instagram)

22 March 2018
Hardback publication of The Salt Path

2018
“Moth”’s real name was Ray (Independent, The Salt Path One woman’s journey…, 23 August 2018)

September 2019
Walkers walked in Iceland (The Wild Silence, 2020)

17 October 2019
Consultant suggested Tim Walker’s illness may have been something else, a ‘more unusual disorder’ (Raynor Winn website, medical letters, released July 2025)

3 September 2020
Hardback publication of The Wild Silence

21 May 2021 – 15 September 2021
Sally Walker states her and Tim walked the length of Britain on various long distance footpaths (Raynor Winn Instagram; Landlines, 2022)

October 2021
Tim Walker told Bill Cole that consultant advised not to plan past Christmas (Observer, ‘I felt I was being gaslit’, July 2025)

Winter 2021
Sally Walker states that two scans taken before and after their walk of various UK long distance paths showed that pre-walk recorded damage to Tim’s brain had disappeared by the post-walk second scan, which had ‘a normal reading’ (Landlines, 2022)

15 September 2022
Hardback publication of Landlines

Late September 2022
Bill Cole read in Landlines about Tim Walker’s normal brain scan results in late 2021 (Observer, ‘I felt I was being gaslit’, July 2025)

October 2022
A few weeks after Bill Cole read the book, Rick Stein filmed at Haye Farm (Observer, ‘I felt I was being gaslit’, July 2025)

November/December 2022
Shortly after filming, the Walkers left Bill Cole’s farm for pastures new (Observer, ‘I felt I was being gaslit’, July 2025)

14 February 2023
Series 3, Episode 2 of Rick Stein’s Cornwall aired, featuring the Walkers as cider farm entrepreneurs (BBC 2, Rick Stein’s Cornwall)

24 April 2023
Sally & Tim Walker walked the London Marathon (Raynor Winn’s Instagram)

7 April 2024 – 18 April 2024
Sally & Tim Walker walked The Thames Path (Raynor Winn’s Instagram)

5 July 2025
Observer began publishing articles by investigative journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou (Observer, The real Salt Path collection, July 2025)

Please do not quote this post!!!

TIMELINE PART THREE – Links to references

BBC 2, Rick Stein’s Cornwall, 14 February 2023: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001j82s

BBC Wales North West, The life of a garden, 7 September 2004: https://archive.ph/6KXzq

Falmouth Packet, Eden students take award winning garden to Hampton Court Flower Show, 8 July 2016: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/14607378.eden-students-take-award-winning-garden-to-hampton-court-flower-show/

FreeBMD: https://www.freebmd.org.uk/

Career Interrupted podcast, No money No home No plan…, 19 June 2025: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/career-interrupted/e283no-home-no-money-no-plan-URg9c06YKIW/?t=58

Land Registry, LL53 6YA: https://landregistry.data.gov.uk/data/ppi/transaction/3B7E0B90-8B85-EA99-E050-A8C062057E77/current

Scotland’s People: https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

The Daily Mail, Couple whose memoir inspired hit film, 6 July 2025: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14880299/couple-memoir-Salt-Path-film-Gillian-Anderson-Jason-Isaacs.html

The Daily Mail, The Salt Path secret, 15 July 2025: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14904933/French-property-Salt-Path.html

The Guardian, Simon Armitage to walk south-west coast path, 19 February 2013: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/19/simon-armitage-south-west-coast-poetry

The Independent, The Salt Path one woman’s journey…, 23 August 2018: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/the-salt-path-book-journey-walking-coast-path-cornwall-devon-homelessness-a8502256.html#comments-area

The Observer, The Slow Newscast, The real Salt Path, 29 July 2025: https://observer.co.uk/listen/the-slow-newscast/the-real-salt-path-1

The Observer, all articles in the real Salt Path collection:
https://Observer.co.uk/collections/the-real-salt-path

The Times, The Salt Path scandal: what Raynor Winn’s former neighbours think, 11 July 2025
https://archive.ph/g3sOO

Zoopla, Pen y Maes, Y Ffor, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, LL53 6YA: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/uprn/10070273056/

Reposting as instructed!

@FurryHappyKittens I meant to let you know sooner, I found something that suggests they moved to the farm house in 1992 (not 1994 in the timeline).

In a filmed interview from 2018 Frome Literary Festival, RW said when they moved to it (and fixed it themselves "stone by stone, slate by slate" as per the script) the children were around "18 months to 2 years old". Their youngest was born 1990 and eldest 1989 so that places them there in 1991/2, if we believe what RW says here. This also aligns with the 1992 newspaper advert for the property.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H-CYegWZM20

In addition, the BBC North West Wales article dated to 7th Sept 2004 seems to actually be the date on the day it was captured by bots for the archive. I noticed this because the date changes on later web captures of that page. So we don't know the exact date it was published, only that it was first captured then. If that makes sense?

Morning all. Placemarking. Thanks for the continuation!

Morning all. I wonder if somebody will write a book exposing the whole sorry story of The Walkers, their life, the books and the controversy that has erupted?

Title: 500 Mile Porkies - The True story behind The Salt Path

• Interview with the consultant who gave the supposed CBD diagnosis in 2013
• Extracts from How not to Dal dy Dir
• Interviews with the brother who also owned a property in Le Village du Dropt
• Interviews with people depicted in The Salt Path
• Insights from Simon Armitage about walking the SWCP and writing travelogues
• All proceeds from book sales will be donated to PSPA to aid further research into CBD

Morning all - to continue the chat at the end of the last thread it was mentioned that perhaps Sally felt some strong connection to her parents for choosing the pseudonym that she did, with her maiden name Winn (her father’s last name essentially) as last name and her mother’s maiden name Raynor as her first.

I am not sure it proves she feels a strong connection but I imagine it means she didn’t absolutely hate them. If her agent or publishers had said she needed a pen name (there is already an author called Sally Walker so it may not have been initially raised because she needed to not draw attention to Sally Walker and her history) they would probably have advised to look at family names as inspiration. I could put a pretty good pen name together looking at choices from my parents and grandparents names.

I'd like to return here to put a shout out and reminder to the thousands of genuine stories of people who walk long distance paths every year..
This delightful man stayed with us en route earlier in the summer.. 80 years old and walking in memory of his wife. He walked every step, I'm sure of it. And his eyes shone with purpose and love. Quiet, unassuming and just getting on with the job.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/david-ensor?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015&fbclid=IwY2xjawL_2G5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBYRTJPRk5iY25jWmM1ZzdYAR4FpgWKwf9dMOXVxHEVG9Jje32CKRsR2Bo6_Hc81QfXO4Xa0nXuOC9fDSo_Sw_aem_w8fjUoi5qBVYHSelJ0NBnQ

And these folk doing the sections of the Cornish path..https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyv1lrrgelo

A promos nothing really, but it really strikes me that while the Walkers lied their way around, so many others are on genuine missions - pilgrimages one could say

I'm very much hoping for a Netflix series along these lines!

And a poem from John Todd as the prologue.

Hidden reply already @exasperatedflatmate. Impressive!

Hi all, and thanks for the new thread and the timeline.

@Catwith69lives - perhaps they will one day! Chloe H actually mentioned a few weeks ago that someone has already published a book on it, but it’s likely to be AI-generated as it was written and published so quickly: https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/nationals/inside-the-observers-salt-path-investigation-legal-hurdles-ai-book-and-putting-new-version-of-paper-on-the-map/.

Not sure why.
I've posted on previous threads completely innocently, just not the last couple. My interest is that I live on the SWCP. This was simply a post pointing out how many genuine people walk long distance paths and giving links to some examples. We had a lovely 80 year old stay with us en route on LeJog earlier this summer, raising awareness for alzheimers in memory of his wife.
It was to express my sadness that an endeavour embarked upon by so many genuine people every year is forgotten, while the Walkers milked a series of lies.
It was probably the links MNHQ didn't like.
Nothing more.

I think it needs to be more explicit, though, because the unaware could think to themselves, well eighteen years is only a few years more, not realising that whatever the number of years, a person with CBD would be very incapacitated by then, not walking about with no discernable symptoms.

Not sure who I’m quoting here, but I was thinking about this and Moth’s claim to Bill Cole and another witness that he had been told not to plan beyond Christmas. Does he see CBD as similar to cancer, in that you could be quite well and then 12 weeks later you could be dead? Rather than the way I imagine it to be, more similar to Alzheimer’s (which I also have sad experience witnessing) with a decline that’s much more gradual and staged. Why would he say something that’s so wild that it would immediately call into question everything else he was saying and she was writing?

I do think the Raymoth show evidence of that line of thinking throughout TSP. Any little temporary hiccup in TWs wellbeing and it's - oh no! Is this it? Is this how it ends????

There doesn't seem to be any recognition by them of the slowly progressive nature of CBD, not of the extremely indolent nature of whatever Timmoth actually has.

Serious diagnoses can fuel health anxiety in anyone -that's perfectly understandable - and I certainly see evidence of that in the way that SW tells it.

I think it’s a great name — strong, distinctive, memorable. I doubt an agent or editor would have enforced a pen name on the grounds of a fairly obscure author having the same common name. At most they might have suggested using a middle initial, or just initials or something. But there’s no doubt Raynor Winn is a more distinctive name than Sally Walker or Sally Ann Walker or SA Walker.

Because he was under pressure to give a good reason why they had gone on the Iceland jolly instead of harvesting the apples? Presumably the wave of people who suddenly turned up were because Bill had helped organise them when he realised the Walkers were going to let them rot as they were out of their depth.

Edited to add that the charity dropped him / them very quickly after the initial article. I think they were already under suspicion of him misrepresenting his illness, talking rubbish and the first article clarified to whoever at the charity was dragging their feet about taking action that they needed to cut ties. It was barely 24 hours later so they didn’t give Tim any time to respond to the article. Unless the charity had prior notice of publication?

I think the policy is that fundraisers only go on a specific board, or maybe aren’t allowed at all. It’s probably automatically hidden.

If the first CBD/CBS diagnosis didn't occur until June 2015, then everything SW writes about CBD and Moth in TSP, which took place between Aug 2013 - Oct 2014, is essentially fiction insofar as she retrofitting what she might have thought in 2013 IF she had known at that time that Moth had CBD.

Well I wondered about that several threads ago under a different name, as the Walkers, as represented in TWS are just wandering passively around the orchard, saying what a shame all the apples will go to waste because they can’t harvest them all, when, apparently unbeknownst to them, a volunteer army shows up — but a local poster (can’t remember who, sorry) said that as far as she knew, the Haye Farm apples had always been picked by volunteers, and that ‘Apple Day’ was a thing throughout Cornwall.

That'll be it. Wasn't touting for fundraising - but pointing out some worthier examples than the Walkers. Of which there are very very many! And it just makes me sad that the scammers are the ones who grab the headlines and cash while so many people have stories to tell

I think that original quote was from @FurryHappyKittens. I think those are good questions to ask/keep in mind.

Seems like the experience of the owner of the cafe at Mullion Cove were shared by others depicted in TSP. This from yesterday's Cornwall Live

Other cafe owners up and down the coast from North Devon to West Cornwall have come out to share similar experiences and say the descriptions made by Winn of their businesses have been made up or exaggerated.