Thread 24 : To feel disappointed - and now disgusted and vindicated 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 23 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?
Thread 23:www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5475246-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?

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 23 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 23,000 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 (and including a shoutout to our threads), 13th January 2026:

The Walkers: The real Salt Path | The Observer

• The Observer, 18th January 2026:

The Salt Path scandal: a hunch, a hint and six months of ... and Publishers agree The Salt Path crossed a line | The Observer

• BBC Podcast, 28th January 2026 (to be confirmed)

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.

After listening to of The Walkers: The real Salt Path podcast episodes from The Observer 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.

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

NO POSTS PLEASE UNTIL THREAD 23 IS FULL

They can't let it go, can they - milking the (now largely negative) publicity for all it's worth. *Publicity making it look like RW, the best selling author ( admittedly true) nature writer (debateable) has penned no less than a series of 5 books - by using the Mark II (film version featuring GA/JI ) cover of TSP as one of the five. The "fifth" can be ordered now - if prepared to part with £22, then wait ? until January 2028 for delivery. Crazy.
(*I'm referring to the Waterstone OWH link kindly provided.)

Many ordinary medieval people loved the entertainment that strolling players provided, however, medieval people were also wary of them, some thought of them as being vagabonds and thieves who created problems and stole things whilst they visited and then vanished to the next medieval town or village.

Good insight @BeachcombingBrandy

They're in the 21st C version of the stocks ATM and it is fascinating that they/PRH still seem to be clinging to the fallacy that put them there as if attached by gaffer tape and much superglue.

I've got to admit that I haven't a clue how this will ultimately play out.

OWH, in its original format, appears dead in the water. If published in 2028. Who , by then, cares about Sal's musings on an aborted mid winter walk and Moth's health, a few months before the truth emerged about her truth.

The problem for Sal (apart from the evidence that she is incapable of addressing her issues and genuinely admitting her guilt) is that if she were to try and embark on a redemptive walk with Moth, she would face the same challenge as she would encounter walking into her local Cornish supermarket - somebody would recognise her and berate her for everythimg that has surfaced over the last 7 months.

With her reputation trashed, Sal must surely be asking herself,

"Is it worth it?"

Of course she may have no choice - contractually she is obliged to write a 4th book for PRH, be that OWH or something else.

Is there any proof people set out stalls for SA, ignoring the rest for a moment.

Based on his (SA's) account of his walk in 'Walking Away', in a word - No!

It's pathological lying on the part of Sal on a scale that makes Pinnochio look like a saint!

The average person will have no idea & unfortunately no interest in SA. Unless huge publicity drive in the West Country (?)

How very odd.

I agree and sincerely hope that none of this would work out in their favour. I do wonder if SW is somewhat delusional though and I can see her wanting to try something even if nobody wants to publish it. All her own bad behaviour being attributed to trauma and TW’s to whatever illness he has. They appear to never feel accountable for their actions. She even uses the words “almost unconscious” to describe her embezzlement.

There is always going to be some sort of 'justification' she can make for her actions. I assume that mass murderers can come up with similar arguments.

If you go down that route you rapidly move from civilised society, governed by the rule of law, to something more chaotic, sometimes called the law of the jungle...

Sal always had choices. Imo she chose the wrong ones.

It's just nonsense. Simon was a pretty well known poet (well I knew his work and always thought he was in line for Laureate) but it's still a bit niche for most people, no criticism but the vast majority of the populace are not that geared up around modern poetry. He did his readings on the way as planned but while a few people joined him at times (including Sue and his uni friend Slug, others joining were welcomed) he wasn't going all out to draw attention to himself while actually walking.

ETA I think a lot of us had a uni friend who was a bit like Slug! Always falling on their feet through sheer charm. Mine was called Max and had a legendary status.

You are dead right (as usual). The thought of SA being welcomed, as if he was JC on Palm Sunday, is a complete joke.

We are talking about a highly accomplished but somewhat obscure poet doing low key poetry readings in front of audiences of 30-80 people.

It's not exactly a Robbie Williams West Country tour!

If Trump hasn't taken it over by then, maybe the charabanc should make an offsite diversion from the West Country to Guatemala for a bit of sheep herding 'a la Moth' with cats!

Just been watching the news about Peter Mandelson. What a world.

A rather depressing article about the whole saga.

Why the Salt Path's author will never learn

Scandal-hit Salt Path author Raynor Winn delays upcoming novel until 2028 after 'considerable distress' when she was accused of embezzlement and fabricating parts of her memoir | Daily Mail Online

The comments are hilariously DM pitchfork-wielding, other than one who says ‘Nothing wrong with a bit of artistic licence’.

If I could react with a thumbs down, I would. That’s a ridiculous article based on opinion and I resent the broad sweeping “we” and that “we” have to assume she’s spoken to hundreds or thousands of people in order to form her views when it might just have been a handful. This sort of writing is so bad, it makes the assumption that “we” the popcorn readers and her, will be eagerly awaiting this next book. The readers are the problem in her view and she includes herself in that assumption. The insinuated stupidity is insulting. Anyone who knows the Winn writing style and content could write this next book, it’s not hard. The so-called curiosity, probably morbid, could be easily quelled by anyone writing a version of OWH.
Raynor Winn is considerably distressed. Only because she’s been found out!
I don’t agree that the reading public are the problem or solely the problem at any rate.

I am like a broken record on this :) but no one is stating the serious issues here clearly enough e.g scan dates IMHO. Also truth she didn’t do walk as stated when she said & it didn’t influence recovery giving false hope to others. The danger is what Sal has done looks like minor mistakes of past due to understandable financial pressures. The Times etc said Tim has a clear neurological condition & diagnosis. It’s surely understandable she & he panicked and got wrong end of stick. The rest a witch hunt!

It’s easy to be discouraged but at least the truth is out there now.

Isn't it pretty much what we said would happen? Sal turning on the waterworks and pleading that she's been misunderstood and misquoted and misrepresented and nothing is her fault?

I agree @PinkPanther57, the reporting around this story by the majority of journalists has been poor, to say the least. We do have a big advantage here on these threads, I appreciate that, posters have found out things that totally discredit so much of what Salray has written. But how they can keep reporting that Moth has a credible diagnosis is a mystery, they are not doing their homework. I do wonder if articles like the one shared, claiming the reading public are to blame and that sales are steady and strong, might work as reverse psychology?

No one, even if sales are tanking to the point of being unable to give the book away on street corners, EVER says that a book is doing less than brilliantly, unless it's a group of authors moaning about income.

I imagine casting doubt on a medical diagnosis an area few want to engage with for obvious reasons.

This sums it up for me, it’s human nature to want to know the next chapter, especially now with recent revelations. We’ve made them more famous than ever !

We don’t know what Moth has, it took me 10 years to get a diagnosis for FND.

There are links to other articles contained within that article which I didn’t follow up. I assumed (maybe incorrectly) that the links were to previous articles which do spell things out. If not, then I agree, those things are important to stress at every opportunity.

I agree with you @Freshsocks about the reverse psychology.

It seems to me that all the time Penguin have this unpublished book of hers, they will not do anything about the current ones, i.e issue or print an apology to their customers which includes facts that have come to light about the events in the book. They are sitting on their hands, terrified of self sabotage it seems. The bookshops could do something. Waterstones staff used to hand write little notes and stick them under books they’d read and enjoyed. I don’t know if any still do, but I’d love to see an honest note stuck underneath the Raynor Winn books snd a list of corrections.