Now a movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, the journey of The Salt Path was first told in Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir of the same name. But this personal voyage is part of a much bigger story, going back to a centuries-old tradition of people seeking better health, healing and transformation along England’s southwest coast.
Moth Winn was diagnosed with a terminal illness at the age of 53 and in the same week he and his wife, Raynor, lost their home. As the bailiffs arrived, the couple made a remarkable decision: To take a 630-mile (1,014-kilometer) year-long coastal walk from Somerset to Dorset, through Devon and Cornwall.
Their journey was first told in Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir The Salt Path, which has now been made into a film. In The Salt Path, Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs portray the hardship and hope the couple experienced as they walked through sunshine and storms with little more than a tent and a handful of cash. But their walk is part of a much older story. Without realizing it, Raynor and Moth joined a centuries-old tradition of seeking healing and transformation along the southwest coast.
In the 19th century, people traveled to the coast because doctors believed sea air and seawater could treat illness. This idea became known as ‘change of air‘ treatment and was widely prescribed to urban patients suffering from ‘nervous disorders’ such as stomach pains and chest issues. These seaside visits were understood as a form of medicine.
