{{Short description|English author<!--please do not insert anything hostile or humorous here, it's not acceptable--> and long-distance walker (born 1962)}} {{Use British English|date=July 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox writer | image = Raynor Winn 2019.jpg | caption = Winn at the North Cornwall Book Festival, October 2019 | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1962}} | occupation = Writer, long-distance walker | language = English | birth_name =Sally Ann Winn | spouse = Timothy Walker, alias Moth Winn | notable_works = ''The Salt Path'' }} '''Raynor Winn''' (born '''Sally Ann Winn''', 1962), also known as '''Sally Walker''', is an English long-distance walker and writer<!--please do not insert anything hostile or humorous here, it's not acceptable-->. Her second book, the autobiographical memoir and travel diary titled ''The Salt Path'', was a ''Sunday Times'' bestseller in 2018, and a film of the same name was released in May 2025 in the UK. In July 2025, a report in ''The Observer'' challenged the two events that led to the walk described in ''The Salt Path'', namely her husband's terminal diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and the circumstances that led them to be evicted from their house in North Wales.
== Early life == Raynor Winn was born as Sally Ann Winn in 1962<ref>{{cite web |last=Ellis |first=Sophie |title=Who is Raynor Winn? Everything you need to know about the author of The Salt Path |url=https://www.countryfile.com/people/who-is-raynor-winn |publisher=BBC Countryfile |date=10 March 2025 |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> in Melton Mowbray in the English Midlands. She grew up at Old Hall farm in the village of Dunstall near Burton upon Trent. She has stated that she was born Sally Ann Winn and that her married name is Sally Ann Walker, usually shortened to Sally Walker, but that she continued to occasionally use her maiden name, and chose it as part of her pen name; she disliked her given names and prefers to be called Raynor (or Ray) from her mother's maiden name Raynor, thus her pen name Raynor Winn; her husband is Timothy Walker and uses Moth as an abbreviation of Timothy.<ref name="Hadjimatheou 2025">{{cite news |last=Hadjimatheou |first=Chloe |title=The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were spun from lies, deceit and desperation |url=https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit |work=The Observer |date=5 July 2025|access-date=14 January 2026}}</ref><ref name="statement9july" /> The couple have two adult children.<ref name="Wollaston Guardian 2018"/><ref name="Lytton Telegraph 2022">{{cite news |last=Lytton |first=Charlotte |title=Homeless, sick and facing bankruptcy: What became of The Salt Path couple|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/life/homeless-sick-facing-bankruptcy-what-became-salt-path-couple/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=28 August 2022|access-date = 7 July 2025}}</ref>
== Disputed events ==
According to the account in ''The Salt Path'', two events in 2013 triggered the decision to walk the {{convert|630|mi|adj=on}} South West Coast Path.<ref>{{cite news |last=Winn |first=Raynor |url=https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/rural-england-homeless-problem-hidden/ |work=The Big Issue |title=In rural England the homeless are a problem to be hidden... |date=17 July 2017 |access-date=30 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2018-04-20/homeless-couple-say-walking-south-west-coast-path-was-life-changing |work=ITV News |title=Homeless couple say walking South West Coast path was 'life-changing' |date=20 April 2018 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref> Moth was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD); and the couple became homeless after a business deal with a friend went wrong.<ref name="Wollaston Guardian 2018">{{cite news |date=6 December 2018 |first=Sam | last=Wollaston|title='Nature was my safe place': Raynor Winn on homelessness and setting off on a 630-mile walk |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/06/home-is-a-state-of-mind-you-dont-need-walls |access-date=28 September 2022 |work = The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-cornwall-43546949 |work=BBC News |title=How crisis led couple up the coastal path |date=28 March 2018 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref>
According to a 2025 account in ''The Observer'', the couple lost their home, which was near Pwllheli in Caernarfonshire in the north-west of Wales, after Winn stole £64,000 from her employer, where she was working as an accounts clerk. To repay this amount plus legal costs, the couple borrowed £100,000 from a distant relative with 18% interest per annum payable, secured against their house. In addition, they were both out of work, and had a £230,000 mortgage against the same property; the combined debts exceeded the value of the house. After the relative's business went bust, the debt was sold on, and the Winns, unable to repay, were taken to court. The Winns lost the case, and the house near Pwllheli was repossessed. As for Moth Walker's illness, the article said that "nine neurologists and researchers specialising in CBD" who were spoken to "were sceptical about the length of time he has had it, his lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them".<ref name="Hadjimatheou 2025"/>
In response, in an online statement published on 9 July 2025, Winn called ''The Observer''{{'s}} article "grotesquely unfair" and "highly misleading" and stated that she was taking legal advice.<ref name="statement9july"/><ref name = "McIntosh77")>{{cite news|last=McIntosh |first=Steven |title=The Salt Path: Author Raynor Winn defends herself against claims she misled readers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2z0707mlgo |access-date=8 July 2025 |work=BBC News |date=7 July 2025}}</ref><ref name ="McIntosh">{{cite news |last=McIntosh |first=Steven |title=Raynor Winn hits back at claims she misled readers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89eq12qvl5o |access-date=9 July 2025 |work=BBC News |date=9 July 2025}}</ref> Winn stated she was questioned but not charged, nor did she face criminal sanctions; a settlement was agreed by both parties. Winn claimed she settled because she did not have the evidence required to support what happened.<ref name="statement9july"/> Contesting ''The Observer''{{'s}} claims; she included copies of 3 letters written by Moth's doctors in 2015, 2019 and 2025. The earliest of these, which was 2 years after events described by Winn in ''The Salt Path'', showed that Moth was "tentatively" diagnosed with a "mild form" of CBS.<ref name="statement9july">{{cite web |last1=Winn |first1=Raynor |title=Statement |url=https://www.raynorwinn.co.uk/ |access-date=10 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250709192217/https://www.raynorwinn.co.uk/ |archive-date=9 July 2025 |url-status=live |date=9 July 2025}}</ref> The BBC reported that one letter appeared to show that Moth had previously been considered as having an "atypical form of corticobasal degeneration", but further examination suggested he may have "an even more unusual disorder, perhaps monogenetic".<ref name ="McIntosh"/> Winn stated: "I never sought to offer medical advice in my books or suggest that walking might be some sort of miracle cure for CBS, I am simply charting Moth's own personal journey and battle with his illness, and what has helped him."<ref name="statement9july"/> A further article by BBC News corroborates much of the detail in The Observer article.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 July 2025 |title=Trusting The Salt Path author was our biggest mistake, family says |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80p2pzgpmgo |access-date=19 July 2025}}</ref>
In the light of the allegations in ''The Observer'', a charity dedicated to CBD and the related illness progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), the PSP Association, ended its relationship with the Winn family.<ref>{{cite web |title=PSPA's response to the Observer article|URL=https://www.pspassociation.org.uk/news/pspas-response-to-the-observer-article |publisher=PSPA |access-date=7 July 2025}}</ref><ref name="Simpson">{{cite news |last=Simpson |first=Craig |date=7 July 2025 |title=The Salt Path author dropped by charity amid embezzlement row |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/07/raynor-win-salt-path-author-dropped-charity-embezzlement/ |access-date=7 July 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> The two companies that produced the film adaptation, Number 9 Films and Shadowplay Features, stated that no issues were known at the time of filming, and that due diligence had been carried out.<ref name="Creamer 2025">{{cite news |last1=Creamer |first1=Ella |title=Author of bestselling memoir The Salt Path accused of lying |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jul/07/author-of-bestselling-memoir-the-salt-path-accused-of-lying-and-stealing-observer-investigation-raynor-winn |work=The Guardian |date=7 July 2025 |access-date=7 July 2025}}</ref>
Wynn repeatedly claimed that The Salt Path was the first book she had ever written, although she had previously written and published one under the alias Izzy Wyn-Thomas. In 2019, Winn was awarded the £10,000 Christopher Bland Prize for debut writers after representing ''The Salt Path'' as her first book.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Loffhagen |first=Emma |date=2026-03-20 |title=The Salt Path author published earlier book under alias, despite debut claims |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/20/the-salt-path-author-published-earlier-book-under-alias-despite-debut-claims |access-date=2026-03-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-19 |title=The Salt Path author Raynor Winn confirms she wrote secret first book |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj32vx61x6lo |access-date=2026-03-21 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="BBC Dunstan 2026">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj32vx61x6lo|title=The Salt Path author wrote secret first book despite claiming she was debut writer|last=Dunstan|first=Gemma|date=19 March 2026|work=BBC News|access-date=20 March 2026}}</ref>
== Writing career ==
Winn's first book was ''How Not to Dal dy Dir'', a novel, published in 2012 under the pseudonym Izzy Wyn-Thomas.<ref name="a004">{{cite news | last=Hadjimatheou | first=Chloe | title='Don't look for the money. I've taken it all': Salt Path ... | work=The Observer | date=14 December 2025 | url=https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/dont-look-for-the-money-ive-taken-it-all-raynor-winns-confession-that-she-stole-from-her-family | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260104011926/https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/dont-look-for-the-money-ive-taken-it-all-raynor-winns-confession-that-she-stole-from-her-family | archive-date=4 January 2026 | url-status=live | access-date=6 January 2026}}</ref><ref name="BBC Dunstan 2026">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj32vx61x6lo|title=The Salt Path author wrote secret first book despite claiming she was debut writer|last=Dunstan|first=Gemma|date=19 March 2026|work=BBC News|access-date=20 March 2026}}</ref> This was self-published through the Winns' company, Gangani Publishing, and had a small print run.<ref name="a004"/> 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'', with the female protagonist stealing tens of thousands of pounds from her employer, getting arrested, taking out a loan to pay back her employer, and ultimately losing her house when she fails to repay the loan.<ref name="a004"/>
Winn's second book, ''The Salt Path'', marketed as a memoir, a piece of nature writing and a travel book, was shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize,<ref name=penguin>{{cite book |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/309419/the-salt-path-by-winn-raynor/9781405937184 |publisher=Penguin Books |title=Raynor Winn {{!}} The Salt Path |date=31 January 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref> and the 2018 Costa Book Awards<ref name=penguin/> in the biography category. The judges described it as "An absolutely brilliant story that needs to be told about the human capacity to endure and keep putting one foot in front of another."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.costa.co.uk/media/513661/full-book-awards.pdf |publisher=Costa Book Awards |title=2018 shortlists for all categories |date=22 November 2018 |access-date=15 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123022921/https://www.costa.co.uk/media/513661/full-book-awards.pdf |archive-date=2018-11-23 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In May 2019, the book won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rsliterature.org/2019/05/rsl-christopher-bland-prize-2019-winner-announced/ |work=Royal Society of Literature |title=RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2019 – winner announced |date=29 May 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422030236/https://rsliterature.org/2019/05/rsl-christopher-bland-prize-2019-winner-announced/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In September 2019, it was the bestseller in UK independent bookstores.<ref name=bookseller>{{cite news |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/raynor-winns-next-novel-announced-michael-joseph-showcase-1089881 |work=The Bookseller |title=Raynor Winn's next novel revealed at Michael Joseph showcase |first=Heloise |last=Wood |date=27 September 2019 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref> A film adaptation also titled ''The Salt Path'', with Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in the lead roles,<ref>{{cite news|last=Barnes |first=Dan |title=Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs filming Salt Path in Chepstow |url=https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/23604960.gillian-anderson-jason-isaacs-filming-salt-path-chepstow/ |work=South Wales Argus |accessdate=30 June 2023 |date=21 June 2023}}</ref> premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2024<ref>{{cite web |title=TIFF Adds 20 More Movies To Lineup With 'Saturday Night', Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones' 'On Swift Horses', Max Minghella's 'Shell', 'Megalopolis' & More |website=Deadline Hollywood |first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro |date=13 August 2024 |access-date=13 August 2024 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/08/toronto-film-festival-lineup-additions-2024-1236038779/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Schoettle|first=Jane|date=2024|title=The Salt Path|url=https://tiff.net/events/the-salt-path |work=Toronto International Film Festival |access-date=13 February 2025}}</ref> and was released in the UK on 30 May 2025.<ref>{{cite web |website=UK Cinema Release Dates | title=The Salt Path |url=https://m.filmdates.co.uk/films/1011046-the-salt-path/?cookiesAlert=close |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref>
Winn's subject matter includes nature, homelessness and wild camping.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pzlitfest.co.uk/speaker/raynor-winn/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705201954/https://www.pzlitfest.co.uk/speaker/raynor-winn/ |work=Penzance Literary Festival |title=Raynor Winn |archive-date=5 July 2019}}</ref> Her third book, ''The Wild Silence'', was published by Michael Joseph in September 2020.<ref name=bookseller/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/30/the-wild-silence-by-raynor-winn-review-in-search-of-healing-and-home |work=The Observer |title=The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn review – in search of healing and home |first=Adrian |last=Tempany |date=30 August 2020 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref> It was shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sethi-winn-and-rebanks-shortlisted-wainwright-prize-1274286 |work=The Bookseller |title=Sethi, Winn and Rebanks shortlisted for Wainwright Prize |first=Ruth |last=Comerford |date=4 August 2021 |access-date=15 September 2022}}</ref> In 2020, the South West Coast Path appointed Winn a "charity ambassador", describing ''The Salt Path'' as "hugely popular" and "inspiring so many" to walk the path.<ref>{{cite web |title=Raynor Winn |url=https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/love-the-coast-path/our-supporters/ambassadors/raynor-winn/ |publisher=South West Coast Path |access-date=7 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922202449/https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/love-the-coast-path/our-supporters/ambassadors/raynor-winn/ |archive-date=22 September 2020 |date=2020 |quote=The Salt Path is a Sunday Times bestseller and is hugely popular amongst all lovers of the Path, inspiring so many to follow in her footsteps.}}</ref>
Winn's fourth book, ''Landlines'' (2022), describes a {{convert |1000 |mile |adj=on}} journey with her husband beginning with the {{convert |200 |mile |adj=on}} Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, described as "the toughest and wildest Britain has to offer", and continuing southwards through Scotland and England to the South West Coast Path.<ref name="beer">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/15/landlines-by-raynor-winn-review-back-on-the-trail |work=The Guardian |title=Landlines by Raynor Winn review – back on the trail |first=Amy-Jane |last=Beer |date=15 September 2022 |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320470/landlines-by-winn-raynor/9780241484562 |work=Penguin Books |title=Landlines |access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref>
In April 2024, the couple set out to walk the Thames Path to raise awareness and funds for CBD.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thames Path walk for couple raising awareness of rare condition |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-68725597 |access-date=16 June 2024 |work=BBC News |date=4 April 2024}}</ref>
Winn's fifth book, ''On Winter Hill'', was to be published on 23 October 2025 ({{ISBN|9780241484586}}) by Penguin under the Michael Joseph imprint. It describes her solitary winter journey along the Coast to Coast Walk across northern England.<ref>{{cite web |title=On Winter Hill by Raynor Winn |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320471/on-winter-hill-by-winn-raynor/9780241484586 |website=Penguin |access-date=8 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250708144426/https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320471/on-winter-hill-by-winn-raynor/9780241484586 |archive-date=8 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref> On 11 July 2025, Penguin announced that together with Winn they had decided to delay publication.<ref name="mcintosh">{{cite news |last1=McIntosh |first1=Steven |title=The Salt Path: Author Raynor Winn's next book delayed due to 'distress' of newspaper investigation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20r4p55vdvo |access-date=11 July 2025 |work=BBC News |date=11 July 2025}}</ref> Penguin has since confirmed <i>On Winter Hill</i> will be released on 28 January 2028.<ref>{{cite web |title=On Winter Hill by Raynor Winn |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320471/on-winter-hill-by-winn-raynor/9780241484586 |website=Penguin |access-date=2 February 2026|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260202152601/https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320471/on-winter-hill-by-winn-raynor/9780241484586|archive-date=2 February 2026|language=en}}</ref>
== Performance ==
Winn worked with Peter Knight's Gigspanner Big Band on a 2022 album ''Saltlines'', with prose by Winn alongside traditional songs from the south west of England.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gigspanner Big Band and Raynor Winn – Saltlines |url=https://klofmag.com/2022/10/gigspanner-big-band-raynor-winn-saltlines/ |website=KLOF Mag |access-date=11 July 2025 |date=11 October 2022}}</ref> They toured a ''Saltlines'' show in 2022<ref>{{cite news |title=Gigspanner Big Band & Raynor Winn Present Saltlines in association with FolkEast |url=https://spiralearth.co.uk/gigspanner-big-band-raynor-winn-present-saltlines-in-association-with-folkeast/ |access-date=11 July 2025 |work=Spiral Earth |date=5 September 2022}}</ref> and 2024,<ref>{{cite news |title=Gigspanner Big Band with Raynor Winn, the author of the 2018 bestseller The Salt Path |url=https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/lifestyle/gigspanner-big-band-with-raynor-winn-the-author-of-the-2018-9367922/ |access-date=11 July 2025 |work=Newbury Today |date=28 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Show celebrating south west is 'hauntingly beautiful' |url=https://www.bridportnews.co.uk/news/24349909.review-saltlines---raynor-winn-gigspanner-band/ |access-date=11 July 2025 |work=Bridport and Lyme Regis News |date=29 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and performed at the 2023 Sidmouth Folk Festival.<ref>{{cite web |title=Saltlines |url=https://musicarus.co.uk/live-reviews/saltlines |website=Icarus Music |access-date=11 July 2025 |language=en |date=8 August 2023}}</ref> The final few dates of a 2025 tour were cancelled after the ''Observer'' article was printed, although the band intended to fulfil some of the dates without Winn and with a different programme to promote their next album, ''Turnstone''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Woods |first1=Rebecca |title=Refunds as The Salt Path author pulls out of tour |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20wd9qx7ydo |access-date=11 July 2025 |work=BBC News |date=10 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Knight |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Knight (folk musician)|title=Saltlines Tour Update |url=https://www.gigspanner.com/news/article/saltlines-tour-update |website=Gigspanner |access-date=11 July 2025 |date=7 July 2025}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.raynorwinn.co.uk/home Raynor Winn] * [https://bbc.in/2HE2gfA Raynor Winn interviewed on the BBC's Woman's Hour radio programme] (34:43–42:00, 28 Jan 2019) * [https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/media-gallery/item/raynor-winn-with-sally-magnusson-nature-and-mortality Raynor Winn interviewed by Sally Magnusson] at the 2021 Edinburgh Book Festival * [https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/media-gallery/item/raynor-winn-a-walk-on-the-wild-side Raynor Winn interviewed by Claire Urquhart] at the 2023 Edinburgh Book Festival * [https://observer.co.uk/listen/the-walkers-the-real-salt-path The Walkers: The real Salt Path (podcast)]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Winn, Raynor}} Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century British writers Category:People from the Borough of Melton Category:Walkers of the United Kingdom Category:Writers from Cornwall