The Salt Path

Moth and Raynor come across a table with books for sale and buy a copy of Robinson Crusoe. They drink tea at a local café while observing some fellow long-distance walkers. The walkers seem in a hurry as Moth tries to exchange pleasantries with them. They mistake Moth and Raynor for daypackers and call them irresponsible when Moth informs them otherwise. Eventually, Moth and Raynor set back out but must head back for Raynor’s fleece; the server tells them that they think “it’s great what [they] are doing” (109).

Moth and Raynor enter a stretch of headlands that becomes repetitive. They make it to Boscastle, which was severely flooded in 2004 and still seems to be closed up. During particularly rugged terrain, Raynor experiences a burning sensation when she stops to pee. They get a call from their daughter, Rowan, who thinks that she is stuck in Venice. She discovers that her bus was merely late and hangs up.

Eventually, Moth and Raynor stop at a Camelot Castle Hotel, and Moth leaves to find a doctor for Raynor. He comes back, and they decide to make their way to a campsite with showers. Winn reflects on all of the duties she would be taking care of at this time of year as a farmer. They get a call from Rowan, who has been offered a job in London and sorted out how to get back from Venice on her own.

Moth and Raynor make their way along some slate quarries and stop at a café where they get chips and make tea. They come across some fellow backpackers whom Moth informs confidently that they are traveling to Land’s End and possibly further. They come across a dog and briefly worry if it has lost its owner until a boy hops out. They come upon a group of older people looking for the coastal path. When they inform them they that are on it, the group decides to head back.

In Port Isaac, Moth catches a loose dog and returns it to its owner, who mistakes him for Simon Armitage. They pass through another port that was once a village but has become a tourist destination filled with summer homes. They run out of food. They camp above the opening of an enormous cave and come across a memorial to “The Fallen.”

Moth stops suddenly, feeling lightheaded. Raynor shoplifts fudge from a snack hut without telling Moth. They take a ferry to cross an estuary and take money out of their account, unsure if they have more or less in their account than they’d anticipated. They stop for an ice cream. They camp, trying to stay away from the dog walkers. In the morning, a dog rummages through their stuff while its owner chides them for camping on the beach.

Moth and Raynor come across an unhoused man with “his life in plastic bags” and sit next to him (123). He curses at them; Moth leaves half their rations. They sleep along the beach and wake up to find that the incoming tide has cut them off from the path where a large family stands. The family eventually returns to their RV. Later, they camp along a beach that is overrun with surfers, who liken Moth to a wave.

They make their way to a campsite with cold showers. In the shower, Raynor doesn’t recognize herself in the mirror. They meet some young men who stay in sheds and do odd jobs for someone named Kurt so that they can pass the time surfing. They get drunk with the young men and sleep in the next day. Later, they cross paths with an old man walking his dogs who says that he always wanted to walk the coastal path. They urge him to do it right away. Near Zachary’s Island, they eat mussels from the beach. The two sleep heavily, feeling in tune with nature.

They come to Newquay, a town known for its party culture. Raynor finds it strange to be around so many people but welcomes it. There are a lot of hardened unhoused people. One directs them to a soup kitchen. Moth buys all the pasties that he can from a bakery discounting the last of the day, and distributes many. At Fistral Beach, they are greeted (and annoyed) by the number of sheep and the noise of sea birds. On the beach, they come upon a statue that has been fashioned from beach debris. Some old nudists sprawl out on the beach. The beach seems to become an endless desert of dunes until they reach a parking lot and beg a café for some water. They reach St. Agnes, which has been “scarred by its mining history” (134). At night, as they set up camp, they notice a field of cabbages that seems to be glowing. Winn recognizes that this is an area that has been polluted by government activities.

The path crosses various parking lots with stiles that make it challenging for dog walkers and backpackers to pass. At one, a man crowds them and tells them to hurry up. An elderly couple asks Moth to repeat crossing the stile. They take pictures, having mistaken him for Simon Armitage. Moth laughs it off, as Moth and Winn now recognize that Armitage is some kind of writer. They pass through Hell’s Mouth, fortunately with few tourists around, and Winn reflects on how distant the people they were at the beginning of their hike seem to be. They walk along the sand until the incoming tide forces them inland. They come to a section of the path that is pavement and opt to take a bus to skip the urban section. On the bus, they meet a man in his twenties who asks them about their trip. He expresses admiration to them for what they are doing. Riding on a bus feels odd because of how quickly they move.

They arrive in St. Ives, known for its artists and its beautiful light. They come across a man selling lobster pots to tourists who directs them to a campsite. They sneak into it without paying. The next morning, they decide to stay and shower. They also stand outside a restaurant watching others eat until they are asked to leave. They check their bank account, which contains less than they’d anticipated. Raynor gets a free tarot reading from a woman at a local shop.

They buy a pasty and split it; Raynor’s half is taken by a gull. Moth gets his copy of Beowulf from the tent and gives an impromptu reading while Raynor collects coins. Some of the audience mistake Moth for Armitage again. They inform him that Seamus Heaney, the translator, recently passed away. They buy groceries and on the way back come across a poster advertising a free reading by Simon Armitage in St. Ives.