Raynor and Moth Winn – played in the film by Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs – were left homeless in the same week that the latter was given a rare terminal diagnosis and told they he had no more than five years to live.
Read on for everything you need to know about the true story, including exclusive input from Anderson and Isaacs.
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Is the Salt Path based on a true story?
In the same week that they had been left homeless, in August 2013, Moth had been diagnosed with a terminal condition called Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD), and when Raynor spotted a copy of the Southwest Coast Path guidebook, she has explained that it felt like their last chance of freedom.
The script – written by Rebecca Lenkiewicz – largely sticks to the true facts of Raynor and Moth's story despite containing one or two liberties, with Raynor explaining: "The final script was beautiful, capturing the essence of the original story while taking it forward on a powerful new journey."
Of course, both Gllian Anderson and Jason Isaacs have played real people before – from Margaret Thatcher to Cary Grant – but speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com the pair explained that the process was slightly different when it came to playing people who are not in the public eye.
"Because the public aren't going to go, 'Well, that's not like them,'" agreed Isaacs. "But also, we really like them. Ray and Moth are amazing people, and their story is so inspiring. The books are so successful, and rightfully so, because they contain messages of such hope and belief and compassion.
When it came to meeting the real Raynor and Moth, Isaacs explained that he was less interested in copying mannerisms and more so in understanding what it was that made the couple tick.
"He makes a joke of everything, even when he was talking to me at great length about this tremendous indignity and terror of his condition and where it will naturally end, he wanted to make me feel at ease. So he made me laugh all the time about it. That's a quality I recognised and could walk away with."
"It felt like I was properly immersed in her rhythm and her personality," she said. "Her accent is quite unusual. Both of their accents are quite unusual. And I found it very challenging.
"So I think at the end of the day, you kind of choose what feels organic and isn't forced, and hope that that's enough of an impression that that they can recognise themselves."
He said: "It's the nature you find in that particular place, [which] is a huge part of the story for them. But as much as it's gorgeous to watch as an audience and for us as actors to experience, it was challenging and terrifying for them.
Of course, one aspect that made life terrifying was Moth's condition, but the other aspect was the fact that they were homeless – a fact that sometimes led people to behave towards them in something of a hostile manner.
"I think that's one of the things that that Ray and Moth are really keen that people are left with," Anderson said. "Their perception of homelessness and people who are homeless, and to be more compassionate.
"And invisibility," added Isaacs. "And how open you are to abuse. I mean, the film is very positive, because her book is very positive, right? It was written as a memoir, as a gift to Moth.
"Ray texted yesterday to me that one of the things she hopes people get from the film is they will look twice at people sleeping in doorways and think about them as fellow human beings."
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