The Salt Path: where to walk in Devon and Cornwall

The highly anticipated Salt Path film went on general release on 30 May 2025, perfectly timed as part of National Walking Month. Based on Raynor Winn’s celebrated memoir of the same name, the film follows Raynor and her husband Moss as they decide to walk the 630 miles of the South West Coast Path from Somerset to Devon, in the wake of a double catastrophe in their lives; they receive some devastating news about Moss’ health and lose their farm to become homeless. The walk, along the length of the UK’s longest National Trail, and original coast path, provides purpose, and connection between the couple and the countryside, leading to rediscovery and healing.

The book has been summarised as an account of two people and a path. But it is much more than that. It won the Costa prize in 2018, with the judges calling it “an absolutely brilliant story that needs to be told about the human capacity to endure and keep putting one foot in front of another”. The film adaptation stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, and captures the untamed wildness of the region, the rawness of the couple’s emotion and the challenge of the walk. An uncredited star is the landscape though, with the wild coasts, coves, cliffs and beaches featuring as breath-taking backdrops to the film’s many emotional and stirring scenes.

From Minehead in Somerset to the cliffs of Dorset, via Padstow, Newquay, Holywell Bay and St Ives in Cornwall, the coast provides spectacular wilderness to explore. And if you want to explore or walk the routes as seen on screen or that feature in the book, here’s how to discover them yourself with Ramble Worldwide.

Below, Ramble Worldwide walk leader Mary Scott shares some of her personal highlights from the South West Coast Path (Salt Path), derived from years spent exploring it on foot while living in St Ives and guiding walking holidays in Cornwall for Ramble Worldwide. She said:

Braunton Burrows and Saunton Sands in North Devon are windswept and beautiful.

The Valley of the Rocks is striking with a rugged, dramatic stretch of coastline.

Clovelly Village is very eye-catching for its picturesque harbour and whitewashed houses.

The northern end of Gwithian near Godrevy Lighthouse is spectacular, sat above the beautiful 'three mile beach' down to Hayle with its slatey rocks and big sand dunes.

Porthkidney Beach is wonderful - a mile of empty sandy beach backed by dunes in places with the St Ives branch live running past.

St Ives is iconic for its harbour buzz, seagulls, ice crams and little boats bobbing in the bay.

All the coast from St Ives to Zennor is fabulous for its high cliffs, intense turquoise sea and occasional sightings of seals.

The immense granite boulders around Porthgwarra make the most striking landscape.

The Lizard is wonderfully windswept and stunning, while Kynance Cove is just gorgeous.

While the 630 miles of the South West Coast Path might appeal, you don’t have to walk the whole length of this transformative landscape to have an incredible experience. Several of our walking holidays in Devon and Cornwall let you sample the coast path, and you can immerse yourself in the landscape on both guided and self-guided holidays.

It is worth remembering that Raynor and Moth Winn's epic walk was born out of desperation. They carry their trauma onto the Coast Path. While walking they slow down and start to look up, engaging with the majestic landscapes they encounter. During the difficult, emotional journey that follows, they find salvation, and are remade by the landscape.

The health benefits of walking are well documented. By striding out on the Salt Path or tackling a section of the South West Coast Path, walkers are able to slow down, connect with nature and the landscapes around them, and reduce stress. The trail's rugged terrain and coastal beauty provide a restorative environment, while just the act of walking itself promotes physical and mental clarity. As part of our core DNA, Ramble Worldwide are committed to creating connections between people and landscapes, providing access to the outdoors for all, and supporting conservation and preservation projects; all of our surplus profits are channelled back into the Ramble Worldwide Outdoor Trust, which provides grants to lots of organisations with a shared ethos and approach to helping people to enjoy the great outdoors.