The Salt Path author has been accused of embezzling money from a former employer and inventing the reason she and her husband lost their home, which inspired their best-selling memoir.
In the 2018 book, which has since been adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, it is claimed that Raynor and Moth Winn undertook the 630-mile walk along the South West Coast Path after they lost their home following a failed business venture with a friend. The book also details Moth’s illness, when he was diagnosed with a fatal neurological condition, called corticobasal degeneration, also known as CBD.
It has now been claimed in an investigation by The Observer that Raynor and Moth Winn's real names are Sally and Tim Walker respectively. Martin Hemmings, Sally Walker’s boss, and his wife Ros suspected Sally of stealing a large amount of money.
According to the report, Martin Hemmings, who owned an estate agency, noticed in 2008 that Raynor Winn had failed to deposit a significant sum in the bank. Ros Hemmings told The Observer: “So we brought all the books home and started working backwards through them. There was around £9,000 missing over the previous few months.”
It is claimed that after being confronted about the issue, Winn pleaded with Hemmings to repay the missing funds. Ros Hemmings told The Observer that her family had accepted Winn’s offer to repay the missing funds but that the false narrative depicted in the book had upset her.
Hemmings explained: “Her claims [in the book] that it was all just a business deal that went wrong really upset me. When really she had embezzled the money from my husband. It made me feel sick. In the end, I think it was around £64,000 that Raynor Winn had nicked over the previous few years.”
Once the allegations had been established, Winn was reportedly taken in for questioning and was sent home the same night. She was told to return the next day for a further interview but according to Michael Strain, the Hemmings’ solicitor, “she had vanished”.
To repay the money she allegedly owed, Winn reportedly borrowed £100,000 from a relative on the basis that her former boss would not pursue criminal charges. Hemmings says her husband agreed to the proposal and the police did not pursue any charges against Winn over the alleged theft.
Ultimately, the couple lost their home in a 2012 court case, after the couple failed to repay the loan from the relative. Winn claims in the book that the couple have been homeless since 2013 butThe Observer alleges that they have owned a house in France since 2007, although it is now uninhabitable.
The investigation by The Observer also raised doubts about Moth Winn’s condition, as life expectancy for someone diagnosed with the illness is six to eight years, according to neurologists.
Experts that The Observer spoke to told the publication that anyone living with the illness for more than 12 years would need around-the-clock care. According to The Salt Path, Moth has now been living with the condition for 18 years - but has no apparent visible symptoms.
In a statement given to The Independent, a spokesperson for Raynor Winn said: “Yesterday’s Observer article is highly misleading. We are taking legal advice and won’t be making any further comments at this time. The Salt Path lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives. This is the true story of our journey.”
The Salt Path, which was written by Raynor Winn, has sold more than two million copies since its release in 2018 and documents the couple’s 630-mile walk from Somerset to Dorset. It is described as a “life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world”.
