Reading Within Tent

Thank you to my friend Jenny for the loan of this one. I had reserved it at the library back at the beginning of the year, but who knows when that will come through!

The Salt Path [pub 2018] is a true story - which is widely known, so I don't think this counts as a spoiler. Raynor Winn had enjoyed the sort of life people write novels about...she'd fallen in love in her teens, married her childhood sweetheart [named Moth - nobody ever explains that] 

They bought a dilapidated Welsh farmhouse, and over the years, they restored it, raised a family, and had an apparently idyllic existence. They worked very hard, but they were happy. Then everything went pear-shaped. Having invested all their savings in a project run by Moth's "friend" which went catastrophically wrong, after a protracted legal case, they lost absolutely everything. The farm was repossessed, they had nothing left. The final judgement came days after Moth was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

So Ray and Moth decided that in his remaining months, now with nowhere to live, they would buy a tent - and walk the South West Coastal Path.630 miles from Minehead in Somerset, round Land's End, and on to Poole in Dorset. The Salt Path is the story of that journey - back in 2013.

Like Libby Purvis in her 1988 book "One Summer's Grace" this story is about discovery - of the British coastline, of relationships, and of self. And the writing is equally readable. There are poignant passages, beautifully descriptive sections, and laugh-out-loud anecdotes.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the people they met, and the way this resilient couple coped with the setbacks. There is much love and laughter here, in amongst the bittersweet moments, when pain overrides everything else. I wanted them to succeed in their adventure. Having had 3 summers touring on the motorbike with a tent and minimal luggage ourselves [and a smaller budget] I could relate to much of what they experienced.

One really challenging part was the way that other people reacted to them. They looked like a pair of scruffy, homeless tramps [which in a sense, they were] Far too many others assumed they were addicts, down-an-outs, deserving of nothing but contempt, because they were literally 'in the gutter' [picking up precious coins they had dropped] 

It doesn't do to be too forensic as you read it. I think there are parts where things may have been slightly adjusted to fit the narrative. I mean, surely, a woman of her age, packing for a long journey by the sea in summer, would remember a hat and some sanpro? And their diet, if it was exactly as described, seems extremely bizarre and unhealthy. Dates are very vague - and there is a hiatus in their walk, when a friend offers accommodation so they can be inside "over the winter". Nine months disappear into one chapter. 

They then return to complete the path - and to work out where their lives will take them next. I won't spoil it for you. But you may wish to read this link to her follow-up book, due out this autumn, if you want to find out more.

I would rate this book at least  *** still dithering a little about giving it more. Bob, and another bloke I spoke to, didn't get on with it at all. I hesitate to suggest it's a "woman's book". Maybe I should revisit it again when times are less strange

However, I would give Ray and Moth themselves *****++. 

Their determination, endurance, and wonderfully strong marriage are truly inspirational.