Thread 22 : To feel disappointed - and now disgusted too - after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

NO POSTS PLEASE UNTIL THREAD 21 IS FULL

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?

Links to threads 18-20 can be found in the OP of Thread 21: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5460943-thread-21-to-feel-disappointed-and-now-disgusted-too-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film?

Most recent:

• Salt Path: A Very British Scandal, available from Monday 15th December Sky Documentaries and NOW TV
• ‘Don’t look for the money. I’ve taken it all’: Salt Path author Raynor Winn’s ‘confession’ that she stole from her family | The Observer

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 6 months we have done amazingly well together for 21 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.

After 21,000 posts there are still new things to look out for on the path ahead:

• 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
• Podcast series from The Observer's award-winning Investigative Journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou, 13th January 2026
• BBC Podcast (NB Not involving Our Chloe)

Keep to the path, no saltiness, eat fudge and drink cider.

NO POSTS PLEASE UNTIL THREAD 21 IS FULL

'Each' is to me what 'headlands' are to @Anythingbutheadlands

“Two sandwiches and a sausage”
Yes indeed! That’s exactly how I imagined it too @Priorlake a Beano banger.

A pp mentioned upthread, very correctly that Sally has been in control of a very long list of actions all because of her love or obsession with Tim. Tim doesn’t get his hands dirty (ironically) except when gardening. It’s the old adage “why have a dog and bark yourself?” Which now seems quite apt.
I am still grappling with the news that HNTDD is definitely her first book and all that entails.

Thanks, yes that’s right- none of her behaviour is excused, but I am interested in the explanations. I hate a mystery, in that I want to solve them!

I do see elements of that controlling, quite sinister personality in Tim and what Sally’s written:

• family members saying he had this curated image and expensive tastes
• also that it was Sally’s job to build the life that Tim would have wanted
• the rage at being thwarted or threatened with ‘outing’ (I believe Bill because he has no need to lie- the facts are bad enough without adding more- so I do believe he felt threatened and shocked by Tim’s rage)
• Sally’s sense of responsibility for restoring (by any means necessary) Tim to the life they thought they’d secured- controlling people can manipulate others into being their own mental police state, thinking that they’re making choices freely, if they’ve been groomed into that subtly enough and for long enough
• His charm: charming and charismatic people are often manipulative (not all, of course, but most of those I’ve met) and/or self-interested and self-promoting whether in a dark way or a positive, philanthropic way.
• Their transcendent love- such focus on one member of a family! TSP never even approached how their children felt about Tim’s illness or their loss of the house.
• their transcendent love- continually seeking an unsustainable level of intensity? Hence the ‘Grant’ chapter and her low self esteem?
• their transcendent love- more pure and perfect than any other love, ever- worth any risk, and she never quite perfect enough to be worthy of him- but she can provide things other women cannot.
• Her sense of superiority- no-one else has such a perfect love- combined with low self esteem which I think is the source of her misanthropy, she desperately wants to be deserving, she doesn’t see herself as worthy, so she overcompensates by putting others down and getting (a big) one over on them by her cleverness, which also allows her to access a particular lifestyle and keep Tim happy.

Ok I’ll stop now. Admittedly I should perhaps have studied psychology instead of yoga 😂

@DoubtfulCat well done, I think you are absolutely spot-on. Extremely insightful!

I’m interested in why we are all so interested… not in a negative, drive by scolding kind of way, but in what it is about this story that has kept us all so enthralled. I think that would make a great podcast or documentary in itself.

Most people I speak to about it (secretly hoping they might also be interested) don’t seem remotely bothered.

I’m also curious about our age range - whether this is a story that appeals more to MNers of a certain age - or if some are in their 20s/30s.

So here’s some brainstorming of reasons why we have kept going on the charabanc - in no particular order:

• personal experience of grifters
• personal experience of being lied to/controlled
• personal experience of chronic/debilitating disease
• personal connection to the victims
• personal connection to homelessness and poverty
• strong values and principles about truth/decency
• interest in walking
• interest in SW path
• interest in other locations mentioned in her books
• interest in writing/being an author/experience of the hard work of trying to get published
• desire for the world to see that the emperor has no clothes and SalRay can’t write dialogue
• desire for justice / a mea culpa
• desire for the unflinchingly honest label to be dropped
• sense of belonging from these threads
• enjoyment of the humour of the threads
• distraction from the stuff going on in our lives
• annoyance that SalRay has become the voice of middle aged female walkers and not liking how we are represented - wanting to challenge her glum narratives
• envy (gotta put it in here as it’s possibly lurking there for some of us)
• enjoyment of the challenge of fact finding - research - detective work
• enjoyment of being part of an unfolding investigation - even if remotely
• secretly fancy Moth/Simon A (thought I’d add that in case any of you are that way inclined 🤣)
• just feel very very disappointed

podcast episode 8????

@Anythingbutheadlands for me it's a combination of several of those reasons, but what really stands out, particularly when there are new developments as there have been recently, is:
enjoyment of the challenge of fact finding - research - detective work
enjoyment of being part of an unfolding investigation - even if remotely

My brain loves researching, picking over details relating to appearances versus reality, weighing facts and psychologising, and there are such a lot of details emerging bit by bit from this investigation - a veritable smorgasbord! Plus it is so rich from a psychology standpoint. I can't think of another culture scandal this interesting or long-running.

Of course I love all the other culture-related scams and devour podcasts and documentaries about them: Fyre Festival, Belle Gibson, etc...

...and Belle Gibson's cookbook The Whole Pantry was published by Penguin Australia!

@Priorlake I agree - and the quality of analysis and fact finding here (these threads) is so good!

I was fascinated by that. After watching the docu-drama I read the book it was based on.

The use of Elias and Baxter as names in HNTDDD intrigued me, particularly Elias as it has specific religious/church associations in Wales. Both of these names have historical associations with Welsh nonconformity (John Elias, 19th century preacher in the Welsh Methodist revival, Richard Baxter, 17th century English nonconformist theologian with some Welsh connections). 'Elias' is a version of Elijah, meaning The Lord is My God', and is a not uncommon surname in the Pwllheli area - I believe there is some history of it having been used as a family name by Welsh nonconformists. Very odd choice as a woman's name in HNTDDD, but I wonder if SW just picked a name she'd heard quite a bit in the local area.

Afternoon all. I hope you are all well today and thank you everyone as ever for all your interesting, astute and hilarious contributions.

Glad to see that we were ok yesterday with the post count after all. I thought it would be Sod's Law (not to be confused with Sal's Law) in that, if I didn't create a new thread before I disappeared for a bit one would be needed, but if I did create one we would be ok. I decided to err on the side of caution, especially as I won't be around this evening either. At least now I can have a little rest from being at the ready and catch up a bit.

Just reposting the new thread link now so that it's easier to find whenever a kind soul (no, not that one!) needs to repost it near the end of this thread.

Just to reassure you and anyone else unsure, open discussion of all Our Chloe's new podcast episodes is welcome @Aussiebornandbred. As I've said, please just note the episode/s you are commenting on at the top of each of your posts, then those who wish to avoid spoilers can do so. It also makes the discussion easier to follow and comment on for everyone.

@TheBookShelf thanks for that. My OH speaks Welsh and is from the area, and says that the phrase Dal dy dir has connotations of holding your land against the English- in an area where locals have been very much priced out by wealthier incomers buying properties for Air BnB. I suspect that Sally would not have been au fait with the subtleties (using it as she did) or really interested in the reasons for Welsh resentment of the English, if she was aware of it, so quite likely to have picked a random name she likes the sound of (and she does like a surname as given name, doesn’t she?).

@Anythingbutheadlands

There is also feeling vindicated because I could not take to the book. I wanted to see if my idle musings about inconsistencies / outright BS were the same as everyone else's.

@Anythingbutheadlands an interesting list of why we have kept going ,,

Like Sal, if I can take you back 😴
These were some of my comments in messages the morning The Observer broke the story:

our instincts were right ........ I wondered why it niggled me so much!

The film has been sold out in some of the more independent cinemas - which irritated me no end.

I then found that these threads were the best to continue reading and then joined so I could comment (when h...kindness advised us not to).

For me, definitely knowing someone who continues to embellish their fantasy story. Also, I feel that what has kept me interested is that none of the parties involved - the Walkers primarily, but agent, publisher, film makers - have said anything to the victims. The marketing continues as if nothing has been revealed.

<makes note to self to detour the charabanc via @Innermagnolia's kitchen door >

Thanks @RainyTuesdaysAndSunnyWednesdays and @BeaveringBrandy - absolutely. These are great additions (and there will be loads more no doubt!). Being told not to comment and to "drop it" is a great spur to those of us with slightly rebellious aspects to our personality. And it must be great to feel vindicated when you were suspicious/didn't love the book. I think I did enjoy it at the time, though there were a few niggles at the back of my mind - like how it was that Moth was doing well and what exactly happened with the house - but I put it down to not having read it carefully enough.

It made me think of "Moth" and the Mars Bar. Unfortunately.

Wikipedia's "Raynor Winn" page now discusses the plot of HNTDDD.

I looked earlier but nothing ...so thanks. What a good show:

Some of the plot of the novel is similar to events in the non-fiction book The Salt Path as well as to facts uncovered by The Observer

Surely even convinced believers ....

Did anyone else think that Warren Evans came across extremely well in the podcast? He seemed to me to be exactly the type of person that SW and TW might like to be seen as.

And a BBC podcast (without CH) has been mentioned previously.

Yes, I'm now aware of the date but don't intend to promote it on the threads as yet and have removed the mention in this thread's OP from my OP for the next thread. I think it's only fair that the focus at the moment is on Our Chloe's brand new podcast series as she and her colleagues have put all the work in from the very beginning. After all, without Chloe Hadjimatheou I wouldn't have started the first thread and we all wouldn't be here almost 22,000 posts and over 6 months later. I will post about the BBC podcast nearer the time and we can discuss it openly once it launches, of course. Like most of us, I assume, I will listen to it and think it is good that it will bring the Walker-Wyn-Winns to a wider audience. What I really don't like and can't condone is the way the BBC and podcast team have conducted themselves in the making of their podcast. It leaves a very sour taste.

Yes, he was very fair and had 'Bohemian' credentials - not like them.

Have you guys heard Chloe Hadjimatheou interview on The Observer's We Have Notes podcast? It's so juicy: open.spotify.com/episode/0MMGv40iXJczFGV46yR0zJ?si=8c3a38f4c9104d54

Episode 6 spoilers

I was impressed with Anne who was so badly misrepresented as 'Polly'. She certainly seems to have their number and her insights into the 'drivers' of the Raymoth relationship are interesting. Also, it seems that while they were resident on her farm, Timoth's PIP came through...

I've been thinking about the original 'Cooper' investment made by Timoth (and apparently against Salray's better judgement) after they sold the Forest Row house. For a start we only have her word (which is worth doodily) that this even happened, but in the 'confession' letter/email, she seems to somehow morph him with the George Penfold character in HNTDDD, 'dodgy' and because she knew so much about his dealings she had leverage to get him to lend her the money. As 'Cooper' had apparently remortgaged his house in Chelsea to the tune of £500K at that point, and if she indeed had info he wouldn't want being known, one would think they might have had a chance of getting back the money they insist he owed them rather than having to borrow it at 18% interest.

There is so much to digest!

Add to last-this would be predicated on them having some sort of proof of course. If such an investment did take place, I reckon there were £££ signs in the eyes and little thought that if something sounds too good to be true, avoid it like the plague.