Sea views guaranteed as film lures walkers to south-west coast

They walk the path for a variety of reasons. For the challenge, the exercise, the views. To find companionship or seek solitude. Some walk with a sense of escaping problems, others with the idea of striding towards a goal.

- Steven Morris

Many more are expected to head to the South West Coast Path, the 630-mile route around the shores of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset as the film The Salt Path hits cinema screens.

The movie, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, is based on the book of the same name by Raynor Winn telling the story of how she and her husband, Moth, took to the path after being forced from their home and found peace, resilience and healing.

A gala screening takes place close to the path at the Lighthouse Cinema in Newquay, Cornwall, tomorrow before its UK release on 30 May - and the hope is that more people will be inspired to walk it.

Jennifer Lessard, 45, from New York, who was found walking a stretch of the path in Torbay, south Devon, said: "It's just so beautiful." She plans to walk the path a few sections at a time during visits to the UK. "It may take me 20 years," she said.

Though in the US she has mammoth paths such as the Pacific Crest Trail to go at, the South West Coast Path is a bit more manageable. "I feel safe here walking by myself," Lessard said. But it is grand enough to be a challenge (if you walk the whole thing it is the equivalent of ascending Mount Everest four times). "It's life-affirming to walk," said Lessard. "And I like the pubs at the end of the day. I'm into real ale."