Raynor Winn’s memoir The Salt Path became an overnight bestseller upon its release in 2018, as millions became captivated by this true story of financial ruin, terminal illness, and healing through nature.

Becoming a must-read for book clubs up and down the country, this tale of a couple going on a 630-mile trek across England’s southwest coast captured the public imagination. In 2025, it was adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as Raynor and husband Moth.

But as the couple were embraced by the nation, all was not as it seemed. When Observer journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou received an anonymous tip off, she picked up a copy of The Salt Path and read it with a journalist’s eye.

Over the course of a months-long investigation, a new story began to emerge, pieced together through paper trails, interviews and testimony from those who knew the Winns before their walk began. The Observer’s findings hit the headlines on July 5th 2025 and stunned the public.

Now, with exclusive access to Chloe’s ongoing investigation as new whistleblowers come forward with their own versions of events, this Sky Original documentary from multi award-winning Candour Productions digs deeper into the truth.

With extensive investigative evidence and never-before-seen material, Chloe will venture further into what really happened on the Winns’ reckoning with The Salt Path.

Are there even more twists to this uniquely British page-turner?

Raynor Winn – real name Sally Ann Winn – is a British author whose debut story was The Salt Path, a travel diary and memoir about a trek taken with her husband, Moth.

The book states that the pair were inspired to go on the Salt Path hike after being conned out of their home by a close family friend in Wales, losing their business in the process, only to be told a few days later that Moth was diagnosed with terminal illness, corticobasal degeneration (CBD).

CBD is a rare neuro-degenerative disease which affects movement and cognition, and mirrors typical traits of Parkinson’s disease, elements of dementia with Lewy bodies, and progressive supranuclear palsy. Those who are diagnosed typically only live up to eight years.

The Salt Path stretches 630 miles from Minehead in Somerset through to Poole Harbour in Dorset, via the Devon and Cornwall coasts. With nowhere else to go and with little to lose, the couple decide to head out on the hike, living out of backpacks and a tent and eating instant noodles.

During the trip, the pair encounter locals and fellow hikers, while the natural landscape and exercise appears to help Moth’s mobility.

Humorous encounters include spending time with a healer and meeting a couple who confuse Moth with playwright Simon Armitage, who was believed to have been taking the same hike at the time.

The book explores themes of the healing properties of nature, and what it means to call somewhere home.

In July 2025, Chloe Hadjimatheou’s article in The Observer threw into doubt elements of the book, including how the Winns lost their home in the first place, and questioned the status of Moth’s medical diagnosis.

The Winns have both denied they misled the readers and declined to be involved in The Salt Path Scandal.

In December 2025, upon release of the documentary, Raynor released a statement via her website refuting the show’s new allegations.

In part, she wrote: “To everyone who has read and loved my books, thank you. Nothing has changed.

“The Salt Path remains my honest recollection of the time when we lost our house and found hope on the Coast Path. Except in limited cases, where names of people or details of places and events were changed to protect privacy, as explained at the front of every copy.”

You can read her full statement here.

The Salt Path Scandal is available to watch now on Sky Documentaries.

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