Thread 23 : 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 22 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?

Thread 22:www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5470952-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?

Most recent:

• Salt Path: A Very British Scandal, available on Sky Documentaries and NOW TV, 15th December 2025
• ‘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
• Observer Newsroom: The Real Salt Path Story, Thursday 8th January 2026

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. For over 6 months we have done amazingly well together for 22 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 22,000 posts there are still new things to look out for on the path:
Podcast series (7 episodes) from The Observer's award-winning Investigative Journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou, 13th January 2026.
The Walkers: The real Salt Path | The Observer

After listening to some of The Walkers: The real Salt Path podcast episodes from The Observer today my thoughts are even more with the victims. I also believe that the publishers, agent and prizegivers must now act and be seen to act.

Please start each post with the podcast episode you are commenting on, for clarity and to help others avoid spoilers if they wish to do so. Many thanks.

As always, keep to the path, no saltiness, eat fudge and drink cider.

NO POSTS PLEASE UNTIL THREAD 22 IS FULL

Exactly. Who would have actually been in it? A documentary usually tells a story and needs more than just 2 contributors.

Thank you for this round up. I remember that listening to some of the literary festival interviews put me off wanting to go to one - I had thought it would be good as I haven't. I also understand the point about not wanting it to be like a forensic political interview, in that atmosphere.

However, I feel that people generally did want to know more about Moth - which included why he was called that - and Sal did not come over well when she was strenuously guarding that information. Think Cerberus.

The Sally Magnusson interview - I thought the audience laughed rather belatedly and nervously. It was an Australian that had the better of Sal - with his persistence - but even Cornsie didn't get an answer.

Phenomenal post @ThompsonTwin , sets out so much very clearly, thanks.

Thank you for belated birthday wishes @LibertyLily :)
I'm sorry the piece didn't get in the paper today, but they might still do it later or online?

I don't know if I made it clear that I was theorising, I was also talking about long term habitual use, not the consumption just before a scan @ThisQuirkyRaven, I looked at a Reddit forum of people suffering with Parkinson's, they had discussions about the medicinal cannabis that they used and how it might affect their datscans, most stopped their cannabis for a few days, even though it didn't seem necessary for them to do so. I was thinking of habitual use.

It would be helpful if you could look at the studies @PrettyDamnCosmic, because I could be getting it wrong, Research gate "Striatal and extrastriated dopamine transporter in cannabis and tobacco addiction. A high resolution PET study." So I was theorising that Moth could have been a regular cannabis user before having his first scan. I found another study from 2016, that included images of the scans "Cannabis blunts the brains reward system -MRC laboratory of medical sciences. " Also Columbia university Irving medical center "heavy cannabis users have lower dopamine release in the brain."

I could be interpreting another study that I found incorrectly, to me it seems to be saying that a recovery can be made if cannabis use is stopped, National library of medicine "A brain imaging study of dopamine receptors D2 availability in cannabis dependent users after recovery from cannabis induced psychosis." I can't provide links but if you search each study, you should find them.

Apologies if I didn't make it clear, that I only thought Months results would be affected by cannabis, if he was a regular consumer. I was then theorising that he could have stopped consuming, and the scan results improved. I was looking for more plausible reasons than that he had CBD/CBS.

Yes, fantastic @ThompsonTwin - because it is so good just want to flag up this:

going to a performance of Iolanthe at the Minack and getting a lift to Treen campsite with the actors in their van after the performance).

So this is now beyond Land's End, on the south coast.

(Remember, we have had to put up with a lot down here. ❤from Long-suffering resident)

Just reading your post, @ThompsonTwin, having listened to the podcast over the last few days, makes me realise a very basic truth.

That the single most important fact that binds together everything that’s been discovered about the Walkers, and (reading between the lines) is everywhere in SW’s three books, is not them being mystically attuned to the natural world and its rhythms from their earliest youth, but, fundamentally

(1) a disinclination to work at jobs like other people

and

(2) a desire for lots of money to buy expensive stuff and support a life of leisure and (1).

Think about it. SW and TW are continually skipping college and then work to be together when they first met. You might just put that down to immaturity. But then SW seems to have left her first job in mysterious circumstances, and TW ditto his life as a master plasterer, before they both quit whatever they were doing to move to Wales after a get rich quick scheme goes wrong.

They both seem to have been unemployed for long stretches of time in Wales, as SW mentions as notable in her ‘confession letter’ that she got a job at the Hemmingses and TW got a gardening job that ‘paid less than the dole’. Sure, they were renovating their house and raising kids, but that’s usually something people do as well as have jobs. The beginning of TSP makes it clear ‘Moth’ hasn’t worked in years, supposedly because of his health, and depicts SW as not working because she’s focused on the court case.

Every time the prospect of work comes up in TSP and TWS, SW bats it away with excuses. Either she’s too busy with the court case, or she doesn’t want to be away from Moth in the little time he has left, or she has no qualifications, or she has no CV because all her work, as builder, electrician, accountant etc etc has been on their ‘farm’, or she applies for jobs but no one will hire her because of her age.

SW claims that no work was available during the time at Polly’s, apart from the fleecewrapping job, which she sticks at, despite its brutal physical demands and poor pay.

‘Anne’ in the podcast says the plan was that they would stay with her, declare bankruptcy, get jobs and restart their lives. Yet after eighteen months, SW hasn’t applied for bankruptcy, neither of them have got jobs, neither of them is helping out around the farm while Anne’s husband recovers from a brain injury, SW quit the fleecewrapping job Anne got her after a few days to go on holiday, TW is claiming PIP, and they seem likely to stay on Anne’s farm in perpetuity, not working, not seeking work, and happy to be her responsibility.

TW then studies after they’re thrown out, presumably as a way of accessing student finance and accommodation and continuing not to work, and SW apparently continues not to work at all.

And then the miracle happens.

SW writes a substantially untrue ‘memoir’ recasting a pair of workshy scam artists as blamelessly unlucky, lovable types, too mutually devoted and free-spirited to move into emergency accommodation and get jobs after the double whammy of a death sentence and sudden homelessness, and it sells.

The reading public laps it up. Money rolls in. A fan offers them a gorgeous farm with light, amenable duties. But they don’t even perform those. TW erupts into fury when kindly Bill Cole tries to get temporary workers to do them. Anytime any questions are asked about their work shyness, TW pretends to be facing imminent death. They are now rich and could now repay with interest the money they stole from SW’s mother and TW’s parents, and which SW claimed to be desperate to repay, but hey, they’re dead, so why bother? Not performing their cider farm duties is too onerous, and is proving difficult to reconcile with taking four-month holidays and with the ‘yay, miracle cure’ narrative of the books, so they leave abruptly, leaving a mess of unpaid utilities, and rent somewhere with no requirement to work.

Unfortunately, Tim pretending to be dying and attention from a pesky reporter means that now everything’s perfect and they never have to work again, they’re saddled with an inability to publicly enjoy fast cars, luxury clothes and long holidays.

Still, they have what they’ve always wanted. Not having pesky jobs.

Yes on the south coast. Tadge ( the site superintendant) confirmed that he did see the Walkers at Treen campsite (although can't remember which year). The margin comments written by TW which appear on the PRH website, are open on the oage which features the Minack. The margin comments mention 'Great Expectations' which was performed at the Minack in 2014 but not Iolanthe. The previous page is bookmarked by a postcard/programme of the Minack which clearly shows the Minack Theatre logo ( confirmed with the Minack). All very strange!

Maybe they had a shorter holiday in 2014 - stayed with the son, did the beginning of the south coast from Land's End onwards (hence Gt Expectations), the west side of the Lizard. Then resumed when they saw the Parsons in 2015 - this time walking west.

I guess we'll never know - which is preferable than a 'What We Really Did' confessional new true memoir!

I think of her response at a lit fest, ‘well actually he’s here in the audience’. Lots of bemused craning of necks…

Unless it was going to be a wellness, positive thinking type thing that would lead to the wellness venture?

Yes, I watched a YouTube video called The Earthing Movie which was basically enticing you into grounding/earthing with lots of soft -focus nature and focusing heavy on that one particular family.
It works (I was hooked in, I am afraid to say, and it's not worth it), plenty of people could be reeled in.

So, I'm hoping there's more repercussions to come for the woesome duo,... but if not, then the exposé has saved many people from future woe and made a big difference to the future scamming earning potential of SalTim.

@Freshsocksyeah, apologies - I thought you meant just before the use which is what I was referring to. Loving everyone's conclusion summaries of the whole saga.

Thank you @AbovetheVaultedSky and @ThompsonTwin for both of your overviews, distilling thoughts from a sea of detailed information.

Yes, wow, thanks for that amazing post @ThompsonTwin! So helpful to see it all set down like that 👏

I'm enjoying the summaries too @ThisQuirkyRaven, I'm sorry if I didn't make it clear, I'm not even sure if what I'm theorising about is correct, I'm looking at studies, but I might not be interpreting them correctly. @PrettyDamnCosmic will be more familiar with the language.

Really good post @ThompsonTwin, also in the medical history 2015, I found it strange that Tim didn't mention having been a plasterer. Interesting too that he says he was functionally ambidextrous, prior to the problems in his left shoulder and hand, was he using both to work equally? Was he saying this to insinuate that even though he was right handed, losing some use of his left arm was worse for him, because previously he had been ambidextrous?

Previously I was puzzled by the atypical disturbance of the anal spincter function reported in 2019, now it seems like it could have been mentioned in the consultation, because it was being claimed in his PIP application, that he had continence problems. PIP is awarded on the basis of how your condition affects you and what help is needed.

Points are awarded, for continence, both urine and fecal, leads to higher points. Salray is substantiating the urinary problems, and the needing help to go to the toilet, in the book that was so upsetting to Ruth Saberton. It's crazy, was Salray using the books, as a way of substantiating what was being claimed in PIP applications? as well as claiming symptoms in consultations, recorded in the follow up letter to substantiate the claims made for the PIP?

There would be no way though, that 'filming a documentary' would prevent them from doing interviews. In fact, doing a few interviews that happened, casually, to drop in a few mentions of the forthcoming 'documentary' could only be a good thing.

Unless they suspected they were going to be asked questions during the interview which might be difficult to answer... (and I wish you could see my sarcastically raised eyebrow here, because it's taken me WEEKS to get it hoisted down after the last lot of revelations).

And @AbovetheVaultedSky you, too, have summed things up perfectly, imo, confirming so many of my suspicions succinctly 👏

Even if "making a documentary", SW would presumably have had a few minutes of time available when travelling to the various festivals etc that she was scheduled yo attend.

It did me too!

At this rate the orange manbaby will be invading Mumsnet (he 'needs it') and imposing tariffs on us all.

At least we can all agree that TSP is Fake News.

Thank you @AbovetheVaultedSky for your very interesting summary of the Walker's approach to work (and avoiding it). I should point out, however, that in the medical letter from June 2015, the consultant states about Moth:

“he managed to continue working, while contending with his symptoms, until a couple of years ago.”

Although, obviously, that would be based upon Moth's own testimony.

Thank you to the eagle-eyed charabancer who alerted me via PM to a copy of HNTDDD for sale somewhere in the world. Unfortunately it was immediately snapped up before we could do anything about it. I wonder who bought it? Anyone here? PM welcome if you want to keep it under your hat.

Where was it for sale?

Excellent post and I agree with everything you’ve said.

Yes, I’d take that with a pinch of salt, especially as the same letter claims TW’s mother died in her 50s, when she was alive and lived into her 80s!

I see that Chloe was keen to find a copy last year (we know she has one now) & there are comments online like ‘those of us who have them are keen to hang on to them’. Chloe etc saying that’s very ‘understandable’.

Why is that ‘understandable’?