Engaged mud lovers plan hilltop farm honeymoon

Engaged Muddy Matched couple choose hilltop farm honeymoon over sandy shores after Leap Year Day proposal

Time together on a working hilltop farm may not sound like a dream ‘honeymoon’ to some, and it may well be a busman’s holiday for many of our members; but’s that the plan for newly engaged Muddy Matched couple Helena and Andrew.

Yes, the future Muddy Mr and Mrs will honeymoon at the traditional Ravenseat hill farm – home of Channel 5’s Our Yorkshire Farm and the Yorkshire Shepherdess – in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales once they tie the knot on 2nd February next year – COVID pending.

And swerving sandy beaches and aqua seas, in favour of muddy wellies and the inside of a cowshed is perfect for a couple whose countryside proposal – complete with rainbow over fields – was witnessed only by ‘a flock of chirping, dancing Fieldfares’.

In true Leap Year tradition, it was landscape garden designer Helena who told the plunge and asked for her man’s hand in marriage.

“I asked Andrew to marry me on Leap Year Day on the bench view of Hill Court Youth Hostel overlooking the White Horse Vale; he had been hinting about getting a ring so I might have popped into a jewellers, checked my ring size and dropped it into conversation.”

True to form, whilst Helena popped the question, Andrew popped open a jewellery box to reveal a beautiful earthy, deep green emerald and diamond ring.

“It was a truly magical moment”, Andrew tells us, proudly. “Helena told me early on in our relationship that I was the lucky one, as she was my first date on Muddy Matches.”
“She gave me a wink; we then moved from winks to favourites and then to messaging pretty quickly before Helena promptly suggested I ask her to meet me at Highclere Castle Country Show for our first date.”

After a week of constant phone calls and a second date to William Morris’ hours in Kelmscott ad Filkins Woollen Mill, Andrew then decided to move things on a little more. “I then officially asked Helena out on the 6th June and thankfully she said yes.” The way Andrew tells it gives a sense of playground giddiness to the whole ‘boyfriend-girlfriend’ thing that we just adore.

The pair are 50 and 49 respectively!

This was back in May 2019 when life then was all just a bit normal. One month later Helena ‘had her own key’ into his family home in Oxfordshire and had moved in fully by the October; five months after meeting whilst online dating.

It was the start of a beautiful rural romance founded on a shared love of green space, fresh air and… sheep.

Helena adds “We have a small flock of sheep that we visit every day and got through this year’s lambing together. We have our 2 black labs and we enjoy beating, game keeping and shooting together. We love working our allotment together and cooking and eating outdoors and visiting the family farm together.

“Now we are trying to plan a wedding together during COVID, but it has been really interesting and very frustrating.”

The pair have booked up for the one of the first slots possible a registry office for when it reopens for ceremonies from January 2021 – with just two guests and a desk. It was a far cry from some of the venues they were pricing up just one week before lockdown struck and put all plans on hold, but they are happy none the less.

“We will take selfies if the offered Wi-Fi doesn’t work” Helena laughs.