Sue and Martin in Mallorca 2019

Sue and Martin in Mallorca 2019
On the Archduke's Path in Mallorca

Thursday 2 January 2020

The Salt Path - Raynor Winn


Sue and I have both enjoyed reading this book about a homeless couple, one of whom is terminally ill, walking the South West Coast Path with inferior equipment and a budget of about £30 a week.

It's rather a contrast to Simon Armitage's contemporaneous story (also an entertaining read - I wrote about it here), if rather amusing when Mole, Raynor's husband, is mistaken for Mr Armitage.

When homelessness is forced upon this hapless couple, they embark on a long walk. Raynor must have kept some sort of diary, or how else could she have written so vividly about her experiences on the coast path? In authoring this book it must soon have become apparent that she's a talented writer, and no doubt she is now making some sort of living by employing that new found talent.

Raynor and Mole certainly have my admiration.

2 comments:

Sir Hugh said...

Anybody who completes the SWCP as a whole or in sections has my admiration. That is the TOUGHEST Long Distance Path in the country in my opinion. I still have not done the section from Minehead to Barnstaple although my friend BC did do it recently and from his blog posts and our conversations I am sure that lives up to similar hard going and I have no plans at my age to take that on. Having said that it also qualifies high in the list for BEST LDP depending on the parameters one would make for such judgement.
Thanks for the review - the book will go on my list but it will have to wait a while for me to finish a 700 page academic biography of Caesar.

Phreerunner said...

I won't be writing a book, Conrad, but you may find Raynor's text light and quick compared with your Caesar epic!