Good evening

When Raynor Winn set off with her husband Moth to walk the South West Coast Path in August 2013 she couldn’t possibly have foreseen what a life changing experience it would turn out to be. The couple had recently been made homeless and, devastatingly, Moth had been diagnosed with a serious neurodegenerative condition. The account of their attempt to tackle the epic 630-mile journey, from Minehead in Somerset to Poole Harbour in Dorset, went on to become an international bestseller and a film adaptation will shortly hit the big screen with Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in the lead roles.

For the couple, the walk proved challenging and redemptive in equal measure – an attempt to take back control of their lives. It’s a feeling our writer Phoebe Smith knows only too well. At various turning points in her life she has found herself drawn back to this stretch of coast: “The path is where I once wandered to come to terms with losing my mum, and again when I lost a dear friend. And now, in the middle of a relationship breakdown, Ray’s words have inspired me to take the Night Riviera sleeper train to Penzance, hail a cab, and hit the trail.”

The therapeutic benefits of long-distance walking are well documented. Despite her own “emotional squall”, Phoebe soon finds solace in the rhythm of walking, the wild scenery, the exposure to the elements and in the fleeting companionship of other hikers she meets en route who share the stories that motivated them to tackle the trail “where everything is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other”. We found Phoebe’s story inspiring and we hope you do too.