You must be joking — it’s not possible in this day and age.

Here’s the problem:

There was a bridge here, early 20th century and unsafe. So, in the interests of health and safety and driven by ill-considered impulse, I demolished it. Then discovered that the sheep won’t wade to the other side; they don’t like getting their feet wet and have no concept of a ford.

I know, I’ll put in some stepping stones. We’ve got lots of boulder that we dug out of the foundations of our old Dutch barn and I’ve seen the sheep happily balancing on the rocks.

Daunting task but here’s the answer:

Civil engineer extraordinaire. I explained the vague concept and showed him the stones.

“What you need is an Irish Bridge.”

It might look simple but it isn’t — every stone was sized and places with upmost care, backed up and wedged. We don’t want it washing away or eroding the bank.

Later that morning we have an Irish bridge.

Solid granite, firmly bedded in, with nothing to rot or rust and no moving parts. The flow is unimpeded and undiverted and when in flood will flow over the top. A Mediaeval solution to a 21st century problem. We didn’t have to buy anything —

Sustainable bridge building! All you need is Meuryg and his digger.

Suitable for the most risk averse.