There is nothing better than browsing a book shop and trip to a bookshop is never just “window shopping.” Yes, my review book stack is always to the brim with books, but I also like to read books for the joy of reading. This book went straight on to my shelf of favourite favourites. It is an inspirational triumph and involves the great outdoors, hiking for miles on end, and loads of stormy weather… everything I love in life, and now in a book.
One of my favourite local book stores has to be Kalk Bay Books, it is great for browsing every genre… it is small and so, not overwhelming, and you will definitely find something to read there. I always gravitate towards their kid section, their picture books are wonderful… but also they have tables spread with delights on the way to the kid section!!!
A while back I discovered this book and it was like breathing a sigh, just the title, just the cover… The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. The deeper I looked the more I discovered that this book is entirely my retirement plan: “Sell up everything and head out with a pack… and walk the Coast Path just as soon as all our kids leave home.” The life of adventure beckons me. I may have to adjust my retirement plan somewhat, after reading the book though, they didn’t exactly sell up and it wasn’t necessarily their retirement plan!!!
The Salt Path
by Raynor Winn
This is the autobiography of Raynor and her husband, Moth, who set out on an adventure of a lifetime… not quite what they planned for their retirement at all… life had thrown them some nasty blows and they needed to sell up and move. Their kids had “grown and flown” and they were in a sense, free as birds. A further blow, was to discover that not only had they lost their home, and their livelihood, but Moth was desperately ill.
This is their story of how they walked the South West Coast, 630 miles of it, from Somerset to Dorset. They packed what they could and realised very quickly that that was way more than they needed. And then they marched their way through good days and bad days and several terrible days, and I am not just talking about the weather. This journey was hard, and a fascinating insight on how “The UK” deals with homelessness. It turns out that the tougher it got the more they persevered… the going gets really tough, and yet the reading is light, often very amusing and often soul destroying, on their behalves… one wants to step in and provide a warm shower and a fresh bed for the night.
This book is about overcoming, a triumph over very difficult things… I absolutely loved it, it is a keeper, and on my shelf of favourite favourites… and to make it even better there are more. Their journey didn’t stop there, but continued and I am looking forward to reading Raynor Winn’s next books: The Wild Silence and Landlines, both of which I am definitely adding to me “Must Read List.”