The Salt Path, written by Raynor Winn, is a wonderful book and a true story that will melt your heart, open your eyes to the possibilities in life and make you want to pack a backpack and head out to the coast.

It is the heartfelt story of a brave, fun and inspirational couple (Raynor and her husband, Moth) who, in the wake of losing everything - their business, their home, their furniture and their savings - decided to walk 630 miles from Minehead in Somerset to South Haven Point at Studland in Dorset on foot along the South West Coastal Path in England.

It was an instantaneous decision made against all the odds with very little preparation which makes it all the more fascinating to find out how it all plays out. And this delightful story proves how sometimes it is best to do something without thinking too much about it because if you do you might talk yourself out of it. It also demonstrates how practical and resourceful we are when we need to be, and that we are capable of most things if only we give ourselves the chance to find out.

The book starts out with the background story leading up to the day Raynor and Moth set off from Minehead tackling the hardest part of the walk first. This makes for some difficult challenges, compounded by a lack of preparation and the fact that Moth had recently been diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) making it difficult to walk to begin with. The miracle of this story is that the walk itself provided a level of healing that no one could have predicted.

Starting out from Minehead meant tackling the highest coastline on the path which soars to 1,421 ft at Culbone Hill leading to the longest stretch of coastal woodland between The Foreland and Porlock. This is normally considered to be the end of the journey which adds another layer of interest to the challenge - reading the trusted South West Coastal Path guide book backwards.

I have walked some distance on different days on the coastal path of North Cornwall and some of those short walks are no mean fete. All the more reason to admire anyone taking on the entire walk in the squally Spring weather along the cliff edges with only a tiny tent for shelter. For anyone interested in finding less-known walking paths, hamlets and coves, this book will help with those discoveries and provide some insights on the more popular towns and villages situated along the coast.

My favourite is the coastal path going southwards from Crackington Haven which takes you up and down some very steep steps, across fields and high up on the headlands of the cliffs with magnificent views across the Atlantic ocean. In the book, this part of the path is described as: '... an endless succession of headlands disappearing into an infinity of blue and green.'

Raynor's no-nonsense approach and delightful humour lifts the mood along the first 200 miles which is an exercise in overcoming fear and pain with never ending tenacity, hope and courage. Battling through burning muscles, sore feet, wet clothes, freezing cold nights, leaking tents, incessant hunger and ant invasions, most of us can relate to these kind of issues experienced on camping trips, long hikes and holiday adventures. It makes the humour and gentleness of each new situation endearing, and you can't help but want to cheer them on and wish them better fortunes as the walk progresses.

In this regard The Salt Path book does not disappoint and I will leave you to enjoy the final part of the journey which brings forth beautiful sunny days, perfect camping spots, secluded coves, Cornish coastal villages and cafes, magnificent scenic views and wildlife events that turn the story into a triumph of the special bond between people and a love affair with the coastline, its inhabitants and the coastal way of life.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf

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The Salt Path by Raynor Winn