Before the film came the book, as so often is the case with a story worth telling. I’d resisted reading Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path, even though my cousin kept raving about it. Wasn’t it about an endurance walk that restored mental health?
I didn’t want to go there: tarnishing a personal escape (the South West Coast Path) with a trending topic. I’d more than enough experience of enduring a family member’s struggle with mental health; and having lived a couple of farms inland from the cliff path forever: it was my own remedy. But I couldn’t ignore the building buzz surrounding the film’s release.
I needed to read this book before seeing the film. A book is written to be read first, before any transition into other mediums. Just because it’s the natural order of things: a personal interpretation.
The book
The prologue made me read on, the first chapter drew me in and chapter two had me hooked. The timing of Smotyn’s demise was pre-ordained: a physical conclusion. From a Welsh farm to a Cornish farmer is no leap at all – cultural folklore and the lessons of livestock tie us all to an ancient respect of destiny.
This wasn’t the self-indulgence I’d misconceived – my cousin was right: so worth reading.
Tom’s Cottage home stretch of the Salt Path’s route falls into the ‘surviving’ chapter, leaving behind the ‘rugged’ ups and downs of Crackington, Boscastle and Tintagel to enter Port Isaac Bay and on to Padstow.
Port Quin’s ghost village story told here differs from the one we grew up with, in our version all the menfolk were lost at sea in a storm: on a Sunday. Poignantly in this context: they were driven by hunger - the tiny fishing fleet set sail on the sabbath; a huge no-no in Methodist communities.
Twice in Port Isaac Moth’s mistaken identity continues. With the journey being borne from lost identity and having to re-find oneself, this sub-theme is hilarious until it becomes an irritation.
Tom’s Cottage happens to sit slap bang mid-way through Part 3 of the book: ‘The Long Fetch’; sub-titled ‘Often, for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked.’ (Beowulf, Seamus Heaney) A luxury carried from their previous life, this book initially plays the part of prop – a bridge between two worlds; but evolves into supplying human interaction, and pays its passage by providing busking content.
The contrasts of the north and south Cornish coasts play their part too. Like turning a corner into a new world. Both providing the space to come to terms with disaster, the right of each other to do it in their own time – even when moving at the same physical pace. The healing power of living cheek to jowl with the elements, pausing to take in the marvels of Mother Nature.
The contrast in people met along the trek are significant too. Friends were made and genuine gestures from randoms received, but these were outliers. The majority usually ran with the mob: first appearances leading to misconceptions.
A tale of country coincidences (or divine intervention), a story of how much western humanity has become disconnected. A saga of struggle, devotion and the restoration of spirit.
What gripped me?
- We’re tiny in the grand scheme of things – relish what we can
- Take everything at face value and go with your gut
- Be brave: whether plodding into the unknown or not recoiling from a perceived unsavoury
- ‘Virtual eating’ – this is real hunger
- The line ‘Is this coast the land of sages and prophets?’ captures beautifully the character of inhabitants where two geographical masses meet.
- As wished from the land of salted blackberries: ‘good luck, wherever your path takes you’.
Some books are un-put-downable, a few leave a lingering essence: its spirit imprinted. The Salt Path is one.
An audio version of The Salt Path is available and is – unusually – narrated by the author. Thank you Raynor for this huge undertaking, to orate the story in the tone it was written. If I wasn’t a natural reader, you’d be giving me The Salt Path’s heart.
The film
We were extremely lucky (living locally) to see the film at an Advance Screening, 10 days prior to general release. A complete sell-out, the auditorium had a friendly air of high expectation.
The casting was spot-on and having been shot in its original setting, the ongoing location was (naturally) magnificent. There was some artistic license regarding out-of-sequence stretches of the South West Coast Path, but in no way did it distract from the story – this is a well-produced dramatisation.
The first half of the (book’s) story is, to my mind, the biggest human struggle - and this is what the film concentrates on. My companion hadn’t read the book and would have preferred a more rounded ending, even if it had meant changing the film’s pace. Maybe the kissing-gate’s been left ajar for a follow-up movie.
Moth’s physical transition was evident (his condition being one half of what lies behind the story) – defying medical expectation. The mandatory ‘couple scene’ lingered on too long for my liking, but I’m probably nitpicking here.
What gripped me?
- Moments of humour and disaster existed and were well portrayed
- The film stayed true to the book’s spirit
- A must-see, regardless of familiarity with the book
The South West Coast Path
Britian’s longest National Trail (630 miles) starts in Minehead, Somerset; and passes along the cliff paths of North Devon, Cornwall (then South Devon) to Poole in Dorset. Equivalent in its entirety to climbing Mount Everest four times, the South West Coast path was named the World’s Happiest Walk in 2024.
Free to access with many entry/exit points along its route, any kind of walk can be taken: from hiking sections to Sunday circulars. Having time to savour the locality has always worked for us, creating a flavour, and memories, of the different areas.
From Exmoor’s Valley of Rocks to Hartland in North Devon; West Cornwall’s The Lizard (which we’re drawn to more than Land’s End) and Cape Cornwall; to Devon and Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, we’ve dipped in and out of them all. Such contrasts. But we have an affinity with our home stretch of the South West Coast Path: an affection twinned with a sense of belonging.
Tom’s Cottage lies a couple of miles inland from Port Isaac Bay – away from the hubbub of destination villages but within easy striking distance. In-house guide books and recommendations provide local knowledge of the Boscastle to Padstow (North Cornwall) section. Our blog ‘The Giant’s Jigsaw’ is a rough guide to the local stretch of coastpath. Tom’s Cottage is also a South West Coast Path Waymaker Plus, supporting this wondrous natural asset.
Tom’s Cottage is available through Classic Cottages
Quote of the book (from a bench inscription at Men-y-grib point):- ‘Meet me there, where the sea meets the sky, lost but finally free’
