About the Book
Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home and livelihood is taken away. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall.
They have almost no money for food or shelter and must carry only the essentials for survival on their backs as they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter, and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey.
The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt, and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways.
Format: Paperback (288 pages) Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: 22nd March 2018 Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir
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My Review
The Salt Path recounts the author’s experience of walking the South West Coast Path alongside her husband, Moth. The circumstances which lead them to embark on this journey only added to my appreciation of the immensity of their undertaking. As the author notes, walking the entire South West Coast Path is “the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest nearly four times, walking 630 miles on a path often no more than a foot wide, sleeping wild, living wild“.
As someone not keen on heights and for whom camping, let alone wild camping, holds no attraction whatsoever, I cannot imagine taking on such a challenge. And doing it with virtually no money, limited food (and that mostly noodles), equipped with only what could be fitted in a rucksack and without any creature comforts. Yet at one point, Raynor writes that they were “Homeless, dying, but strangely, in that sweaty, dehydrated moment, shyly, reluctantly happy”. Which just goes to show that you have to choose your attitude.
At times the pair are surprised by the reaction of others they meet. Some react negatively once they learn they are homeless. Others admire their spirit or envy their freedom to undertake such a journey. And along the way, Raynor and Moth meet a number of ‘Good Samaritans’ ranging from the pink-haired girl who gives them free food to the people who buy them tickets for the Minack Theatre.
Alongside the account of their journey are occasional sections devoted to information about homelessness, dolphin protection or the geology of the areas they pass through. And of course, the flora and fauna. Raynor’s connection with the land and the natural world, forged in childhood and passed on to her own children, really comes across. “The wild was never something to fear or hide from. It was my safe place; the thing I ran to. Our land gave that to our children. Growing like saplings in the storm, bent by it, but strengthened at the core, rooted but flexible and strong, running free in the wind, but guided by it.”
Having visited the south coast of Cornwall on a number of occasions, I was particularly drawn to the sections of the book where Raynor and Moth travel through places I’ve been to such as Mousehole, Fowey, Polruan, Falmouth and St. Mawes. One section that caught my eye was when they arrive in Morwenstow and visit the cliff top hut built by Robert Hawker, the smallest property owned by the National Trust. The same Parson Hawker features in the historical crime novel, The Mermaid’s Call by Katherine Stansfield.
More than anything, I found myself moved by Raynor’s and Moth’s enduring devotion to each other. Recalling their time together, Raynor writes, “Years passed with our legs entwined, in endless chatter and laughter. And all the time we lived with a passion that didn’t die…“
The author writes with unflinching honesty about the low points they experience on their journey, such as when they reach Bude and find less than they were expecting in their bank account. Raynor blames herself for the events that caused them to lose their home and, as always, Moth’s welfare is at the forefront of her mind. “We’re lost. No money, no food, no home. You need to eat; you’re ill… Now I’ve dragged you out here when you should be somewhere safe, resting, not hauling a bag round the edgeland of life”. To counteract this, there are moments of humour such as their bafflement when Moth is repeatedly mistaken for a well-known poet (although not well-known to them clearly).
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Raynor talk about The Salt Path, and its follow-up, The Wild Silence, at this year’s online Henley Literary Festival. As well as telling the fascinating story of how The Salt Path came to be written and published, and the original title she came up with (it got used as a chapter title instead), Raynor revealed she and Moth are planning another “long walk” (location undisclosed). So readers can look forward to another book in future.
For me, the abiding message of The Salt Path is, in the author’s words, “Life is now, this minute, it’s all we have. It’s all we need.”
In three words: Honest, intimate, inspiring
Try something similar: The Outrun by Amy Liptrot
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About the Author
Since completing the South West Coastal Path, Raynor Winn has become a regular long-distance walker and writes about nature, homelessness and wild camping. She now lives in Cornwall with her husband Moth and their dog, Monty.
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Author: whatcathyreadnext
#BookReview The Magic Walking Stick by John Buchan #ReadJB2020
About the Book
A young boy, Bill, buys a walking stick from a roadside peddler. He discovers that it’s a magic stick that will take the owner to anywhere he wishes. Adventures ensue…
My Review
My Buchan of the Month for September was The Magic Walking Stick, one of the few books John Buchan wrote for children. It was published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton on 24th October 1932. You can read my earlier blog post introducing the book here.
The central idea of a magic walking stick which can transport its possessor anywhere they wish is a charming one. However, Buchan rather complicates matters by introducing the concept that there are actually two magic walking sticks – one called Beauty and the other Bands – and Bill doesn’t know which one he possesses. Beauty is “for gallivanting about the earth for your amusement” and Bands for things like “battles and rescues and escapes” and if either is used for the wrong purpose serious consequences will follow.
Having acquired the walking stick from a peddler, young Bill sets off on a series of adventures. The best of these include arranging a surprise Christmas feast for a group of villagers and the rescue from the desert of Bill’s adventurous uncle. Some of the episodes I thought were a rather strange choice of subject matter for children, such as Bill’s visit to a gruesome elephants’ graveyard. Bill’s obvious enjoyment of hunting and shooting seemed a little out of place too as did his choice of a rifle as a suitable present for a boy of a similar age to himself. The boy in question is Prince Anatole, heir to the throne of Gracia, whose accession is threatened by a group of republicans. Bill’s attempts to rescue Anatole and deal with his enemies take up most of the latter part of the book.
Buchan has a rather ambitious notion of a child’s vocabulary. Phrases such as ‘an aureole of virtue’ or ‘a vivacious colloquy’ perplexed even me and I reckon I’m well above the target age group for the book. I think the book would be more successful if he had used simpler language and confined Bill’s adventures to innocent mischief rather than political intrigue.
October’s Buchan of the Month is The Free Fishers.
About the Author
John Buchan (1875 – 1940) was an author, poet, lawyer, publisher, journalist, war correspondent, Member of Parliament, University Chancellor, keen angler and family man. He was ennobled and, as Lord Tweedsmuir, became Governor-General of Canada. In this role, he signed Canada’s entry into the Second World War. Nowadays he is probably best known – maybe only known – as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps. However, in his lifetime he published over one hundred books: fiction, poetry, short stories, biographies, memoirs and history.
You can find out more about John Buchan, his life and literary output by visiting The John Buchan Society website.
