A MAN popped the big question to his girlfriend during a romantic sunset proposal on the Sir John Barrow Monument in Ulverston.

25-year-old Karl Scrogham asked to use the 100ft tower at the top of the 436-foot Hoad Hill to ask Kristie Dolnack, 23, to be his wife.

Kristie is from a small American town in Western Pennsylvania called Rochester and is currently studying Cybersecurity in the UK. 

Karl asked his dad, senior lighthouse keeper Graham Scrogham, if he could open the monument so he could tell her they were going for a meal at the top then surprise her with the proposal.

The Mail: The table and chairs that were set up for the surpriseGraham said: "With the help of my wife and daughter we decorated the lantern chamber with fairy lights and rose petals. All was set up perfectly, however as Kristie started to climb the spiral stairs to the top, she realised she had an abject fear of heights and couldn’t go any higher.

"So a rapid movement of the chairs and tables down to the first floor was done and then we left them to their evening. Karl popped the question very quickly and we could hear very clearly that Kristie had said 'yes'.

"We finished the night with a great musician, Peter Buckley, who I’d asked to come along and play a fantastic acoustic set for them. All in all a wonderful evening."

The couple met during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 when Karl was isolated in a flat alone. He joined a group call on the gaming platform Discord during lockdown where he met Kristie and several other friends in the gaming community.

The Mail: Karl and Kristie at sunset

During the special proposal idea, Karl's sister Laura Scrogham was there to capture the special moment forever in photographs.

Karl said: "I was inspired by the idea of being able to show my hometown to my partner. She is from the USA so hasn't seen much of it so I wanted to show her the place where I grew up and how much I want to share my future with her.

"It went pretty well. We had one small hiccup in that her fear of heights prevented her from getting to the top. However, with some small adjustments, we had a lovely time on the first floor instead where I was able to pop the question - much to her surprise.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way as it makes for a fantastic story and something very lovely to look back on."