Scan Magazine | Culture Profile | Bridgewalking
Walking on the Lillebælt Bridge, you get to enjoy stunning views of the surrounding landscape, the maritime nature park beneath, and the bridge itself.
Fun in, under and high above Lillebælt Sixty metres above Lillebælt, Europe’s first bridge walk is an experience that combines history, marine life and exhilarating heights. Since opening three years ago, more than 100,000 people have enjoyed stunning views from the 80-year-old Lillebælt Bridge. Among visitors are also families, and while the older members go high above the water, the youngest can explore from underneath. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Bridgewalking
Until two years ago, bridge walking was something most people connected with Sydney harbour. Maybe it still is, but Denmark now has its very own version, and it is not just aimed at the super adventurous. For families with little ones not quite tall enough – you must reach 140 centimetres to go on the bridge – or indeed brave enough, there is an option to explore the waters from underneath the surface instead. “When families visit us, the youngest children are not always up for the bridge walk, but they then have 22 | Issue 109 | February 2018
the chance to explore the waters underneath with our marine biologist. It’s been a great hit with many families as it gives everyone a chance to enjoy and share some of the experience,” says manager of Bridgewalking, Lone Skjoldaa. Setting out from Middelfart, the bridge walk takes participants 60 metres above sea level and 20 metres above the bridge’s railway. Perched above it all, you can enjoy unimpeded views of Lillebælt, feel the gentle rocking from
the trains running below, and admire the elaborate construction work of the bridge up close.
Maritime nature and local history While there might be more famous bridges to cross, few take walkers across a maritime nature park – but the Lillebælt Bridge does. As such, the walk over Lillebælt is not just an exhilarating experience in that visitors get to climb the very top of the bridge, but also in that it gives them access to an exclusive way of experiencing the beautiful natural landscape. One noteworthy aspect is its population of harbour porpoises; Lillebælt is the belt in the world with the highest concentration of these charming sea creatures. “You are walking right in the middle of a maritime nature park and, of course,