It was meant to be the most romantic day of their lives. But it couldn’t have gone more wrong for one York couple.
Edward Appelby planned to propose to his girlfriend, Charis Hindhaugh, at Falling Foss waterfall near Whitby.
The woodland beauty spot was chosen to provide a wonderful backdrop to a memory that would last a lifetime.
But the day turned out to be memorable for all the wrong reasons…
Because, before Edward popped the question, Charis tumbled down the slope and had to be saved by mountain rescue volunteers!
The day started smoothly. The 24-year olds made their way to Falling Foss along with some friends and their beloved dog, Shirley.
They completed a circular loop around the waterfall and stood to admire the scene on a viewing platform.
“When you look at the walk online, in a lot of the pictures people are actually by the waterfall. So we thought, oh, we’ll see if we can get down to the waterfall,” Charis told YorkMix.
Unknown to Charis, this was the spot where Edward had planned to pop the question – with their friends on standby for photograph duty.
They found a well-used route just off the main trail and followed it down. “My partner and his friend managed to get most of the way down. I managed to get the dog most of the way down.
“And then I just misplaced my footing slightly.
“I started to slide, and as I slid, I caught my foot on a tree root, and my leg crumpled underneath me and went crunch.
“I knew pretty quickly that it was broken. I was lying on the floor and I couldn’t get back up the hill,” Charis said.
‘I want the ring now!’
In a stroke of luck during desperate times, her accident was foreshadowed by a sign they had seen just ten minutes prior. “Fortunately, outside the cafe, we’d seen a sign that said in case of emergency, call 999 and ask for mountain rescue,” she said.
The first mountain rescue volunteer arrived 45 minutes later scene. He calmed the group down and made sure Charis was distracted.
“I think it was a lot of adrenaline, but I was probably the most calm out of everyone!” She joked.
In a loving gesture, Edward took off his jacket to put over Charis. This is the moment she knew their Falling Foss endeavour had been strategically planned.
Charis said, “in the pocket of his jacket I could feel a big square box. And I was like ‘oh no, the gig’s up’.
“I didn’t say anything to him, but I sort of made a face at our friend, and then I made a face at him.”
Although she hadn’t fully pre-empted the proposal, she had a hunch. “We talked about it, and he’d been hinting for a while that he was planning something, and when he suggested a walk with a beautiful waterfall and everything, I had my suspicions.
“I didn’t exactly probe for information. I was just going to let him do what he wanted to do.”
When more of the mountain rescue team had arrived, Charis was stretchered up the embankment. The number of tree roots and branches made the lift a bit of an ordeal.
“Once everyone was safely up the bank, I sort of joked with the mountain rescue team to make sure they looked after his jacket as there’s something important in there.
“He was trying to propose to me, and I’ve gone and ruined it all.
“They then made a joke to him, obviously letting him know that I knew, but the whole team thought it was really quite funny. We were all in good spirits!”
She was taken away in an ambulance to Scarborough Hospital for treatment to what was confirmed as her broken ankle.
After hours of chaos, the pair arrived at the hospital. Edward at this point, knew his romantic plan had fallen through.
He asked Charis if she wanted him to reschedule the proposal and try again at a later date, but her excitement got the better of her.
“I said no I want the ring now! Now that you’ve dangled it in front of me, you can’t take it away!”
Edward popped the question in the hospital and the happy couple were officially engaged after seven and a half years.
“We waited until we had five minutes alone, and he gave me the ring. We had a little moment, and then he had to go and leave me for the evening, unfortunately,” Charis said.
This all happened on Sunday 6 October Charis’ ankle required surgery which meant two overnight stays, but after being discharged on 8 October, she’s on the mend back at home.
When asked if she had any plans to return to the waterfall, she said, “We might do eventually, but I think I’m gonna stay away from steep hills for a while. Not sure I can be trusted!”