Thread 20 : 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 ...

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

Links to threads 2-16, the other 20 Observer articles and videos to date, Raynor Winn/Sally Walker's statement, our timeline and sources can all be accessed in the OP and first few posts of Thread 17: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5403285-thread-17-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Thread 18: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5422393-thread-18-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Thread 19: www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5437058-thread-19-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 are welcome. It would be helpful to get the background from at least some of the Observer exposé items before posting.
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. Remember, even Hollywood rabbits attract the odd flea. Please do not engage with drive-by scolders and ploppers 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. Over five months we have done amazingly well together for 19 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.

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

Up and coming:

• Salt Path: A Very British Scandal, Monday 15th December 9pm Sky Documentaries and NOW
• Sunday Papers Live, The Real Salt Path with Chloe Hadjimatheou, Sunday 7th December (see image below for tickets and further details)
• Observer Newsroom: The Real Salt Path Story, Thursday 8th January 2026 6.30-7.30pm. More information and to book via this link observer.co.uk/our-events/the-real-salt-path-story

Interesting in the documentary how the family members seem to agree that there was nothing really wrong with TW.

I read the full story in the posts here, then bought the hard copy as a microscopic step in support of investigative journalism.

There was a lingering shot of an off licence in Pwhelli in the documentary.

Agreed on investigative journalism being time-consuming and expensive.

SW is still on the front page of the Graham Mawe Christie website, but there’s usually a contracted notice period for either party to leave the agreement — my agent needs to give me three months’ notice and vice versa. As TSP and its sequels will have made her agent a healthy sum, I imagine it’s a matter of whether that’s outweighed by the reputational damage to her…?

She captured the zeitgeist, and what she wrote was more imprtant than her being a fair enough writer but not amazing.

Arvon, like any business, want to make a profit.

Whereas I walked to the local newsagent, read it carefully, read all your posts (well, skimmed there were so many). Which is why I made some of the same observations as you @Peladon - only a couple of hours later!😀

@Groundsel yes that’s true - though my agent hasn’t updated his website since about 2008 🤣 I would imagine that they might just about take a “let’s see how it rides out” approach after the first splash but now, hard to see what the potential reward vs reputational damage argument would be!

Such a medical miracle, if it existed, would be the subject of intense discussion in neurology journals, points out Dr Gratwicke. But it has gone entirely unreported by Walker's doctors. The only conceivable explanation, he suggests, is that the diagnosis is fake.

I haven't watched the doc. but the Mail has quoted this from it. Bang on, if he was the medical miracle he purports to be there would be a line of researchers wanting to investigate him.

Overview in The Independent includes discussion of "Grant": https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-salt-path-sky-documentary-raynor-winn-letter-b2884120.html

SPOILER ALERT @Aussiebornandbred

The programme is split into sections. They are:

• Ros Hemmings and co-worker at Estate Agents
• ‘New’ Owner of Pen y Maes
• Glastonbury – owner of Heavenly End interviewed
• ‘Grant’
• Haye Farm Neighbour
• Illness
• Interview of ex-PRH employee who was there when TSP was published
• Family – only the last 15 minutes of the 75 minute programme, which covered yesterday’s Observer article. Lots of their opinions on SW and TW characters.

So there was no mention of whether or not they walked the Path or staying at Polly’s.
PRH and Walker’s declined to comment.

In the first section:
Ros Hemmings - SW stole the whole time she was working there

• Used false invoices for things like van engines
• Forged cheques
• On arrest, she just said ‘no comment’ to everything
• CH talked to former colleague (on phone) who says that SW was quiet, talked about her children(“everything costs so much, no money to do his that and the other”) and she and Martin were surprised when she said they had bought the French property.

And now I have to stop and return to mundane things. I or someone else, will hopefully update the other sections later. Sorry there isn't more yet.

I noticed how like an anxious little mouse Sally looks in her wedding picture. Next to the preening Tim.

I do feel that Tim has always had the whip hand, Sally has to do the dirty work.. or she's out on her ear. Sometimes Tim and/or the success of the ruses rewards her by making her feel she is winning, invincible even. Other times the reality creeps in and we get the nervous, slightly gaspy Sally of some of the tv appearances. (I did make this suggestion about half a dozen thread ago - almost certainly under a different user name)

Meant to quote someone upthread posting about Tim but the quote vanished , sorry)

She treats him as if he's some sort of demi god who could have chosen anyone but he chose HER!

This is the one, from @PinkPanther57 . Yes several pages ago, Im a bit behind!

Had one watch of the documentary, now having another watch for clarity, if you have been following the threads from the start, then there wasn't any real new revelations (not after yesterday, the family letters, identity of Polly, other anomalies and the hearing voices) the documentary is CH explaining the scandal from the start. Lots of talking to camera, interspersed with clips from, interviews, film and Raynor reading exerts.

New info, identity of Grant, chap called Warren, no beauties or massage, only lasagne, I'm sure Warren says his autistic son's nanny wouldn't massage Moth's feet (only his son's feet) Another interesting person, a neighbour author lady who became suspicious about their story, she started questioning the health claims made, she lived near by when Salray wrote LL (I wondered if she was the whistle blower) bit from Dulverton, mixed opinions of readers.

One phone interview with former colleague at estate agents, she eluded to fake invoice and told of Salray coming into work one day saying that she had just bought a house in France. Interview with Glastonbury lady.

Per the documentary Hemming's widow reports that she said "no comment" to all the police questions.

I bought the newspaper yesterday and there were only a couple of copies left!

Thank you so much
Look forward to hearing the rest when/if you have time

I think the gorgeous front cover (what an amazing artist) probably played a large part in the book’s success!

I had another thought about Tim. “Moth” is portrayed as someone gave away half their food to a grumpy old sod on a bench* and enabled an undeserving child to spend coins he’d nabbed when Ray is knocked off her feet into the gutter. He even congratulates him and directs him to an ice cream van. Raynor sighs her exasperation at his good nature to the reader… despairing but still loving… even though they are now short of food and money… and those people were so undeserving! Moth the free-spirited, sweet, generous Moth…. Who in reality helped to funnel £25k from his own parents and force them to live in a barn over winter?? <head scratch> Is this why they needed all this unearned money in real life? To satisfy Timmoth’s desire to give it all away? (No, I don’t think so.)

*Portrayed in a very unsympathetic light.

Thanks for that. Good to have info about the general gist of the doco. I’m still hoping that it will be picked up by one of our Australian tv stations, or that someone will upload it to You Tube, in which case I will be glued to the screen.

I was hoping that we would hear more about the diagnosis, CBD was discussed in detail with a neurologist, explaining that the symptoms of CBD couldn't be reversed as Raynor claimed, also that the brain scan description, nonsense. But nothing about who diagnosed Moth.

Warren is saying he never mistook Moth for SA, and the massage, his words, a load of crap. It was his autistic son's childminder, Warren says, they certainly wouldn't have massaged Moth's feet.

I haven't watched the documentary yet but I sense that there might be a bit of disappointment that more wasn't exposed. I suspect that the documentary was aimed at an audience who are not all up to speed with the background to the TSP saga (as we all are here on this MN thread) So it would have been necessary to cover a lot of old ground.

I think CH's strength is in podcasts (ie Lucky Boy). I suspect we will get a much more in depth analysis of a lot of stuff including the chronology of the walk, the content of HNTDDD and the accuracy of Moth's CBD diagnosis if and when such a podcast, with multiple episodes, is released.

Ruth Saberton is the author neighbour, I think you are right @NaughtyNoodler, the podcasts should contain more new info, this documentary is the background, with a few snippets of new info.