Bridgewalking over the Little Belt strait in Denmark

On a warm summer day in late May, my dad, two brothers and I headed to Middelfart on the island of Funen in Denmark, where we were awaiting an unusual and exciting experience. We were going bridgewalking! And no, we were not flying to Australia, we were doing it right here in our tiny home country of Denmark, at a unique spot on our map called the Little Belt strait.

The experience opened back in 2015 and takes place on the Old Little Belt Bridge, which was constructed between 1925 and 1935 to accommodate the increasing amount of traffic between Jutland and Funen, which before the bridge were only connected by ferry. The bridge was the main method of transportation between the two regions until 1970, when the New Little Belt Bridge was built, leading the heavy traffic away from the center of Middelfart.

We arrived at the Bridgewalking Lillebælt Welcome Center in good time before the experience started, so we could get all of our gear on and build up our courage before going 60 meters above sea level on a human-made construction. I’m not afraid of heights, but it’s always nerve-wracking to try something new.

Thankfully, I had no doubt that the guides knew what they were doing. We were safer than safe as we walked up there. Usually it’s not allowed to bring loose items on the bridge, but because I really wanted my own pictures for this post, I’d written to them beforehand to ask if I could take my camera. Thankfully, I was allowed to take it and they even sent me up with an extra guide to take care of me and my equipment.

So after we had put on all of the gear, the group of 20 headed up towards the top of the bridge, standing a towering 60 meters above the Little Belt strait and 20 meters above the rails and road lanes on the bridge.

The climb itself took about 1½ hours where we walked from one end of the bridge to the other, 1178 meters from Funen to Jutland, over to the other side and back to Funen. We had an informative guide and learned all about the construction of the old bridge as well as the new bridge which we could see in the near distance. He also told us about the history of the surrounding areas and even took us back to the Stone Age when telling us about the famous Hindsgavl Dagger from the Late Neolithic, which was found on the nearby island of Fænø.

The extra guide that came with us was also extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Not only did I have someone to take care of me and my equipment, I also got to learn about his extremely cool job and all that he knew about the bridge and surrounding areas.

The views from the top of the bridge were simply mesmerizing. We could see far and beyond Middelfart and the surrounding areas, and saw several ships passing by on the azure blue ocean.

In the surrounding areas, quite a few settlements from the Ertebølle Culture, my favourite archaeological period from approximately 5.500-4.000 BC, have been found and excavated. While we were walking up there, I was trying to imagine what life was like back in those days, where fishing was the main source of economy. To be honest, I understand completely why the hunter/gatherers chose to settle down in the Little Belt region; it’s a beautiful place with a lot of natural resources available.

The experience was everything we’d hoped for and more. We felt extremely safe and well looked after, and I was especially impressed with the great service. It’s definitely something that I can recommend everyone to do, as long as you don’t have severe fear of heights or are physically unable. The views from the top are spectacular, especially on a beautiful sunlight day as we had. And the best part is the location of the bridge in one of my favourite areas of Denmark.

The experience was unique in every way, and is something worth considering when travelling through Denmark. Even if you have Copenhagen as your base for exploring Denmark, the bridgewalking experience can be done as part of a day trip to Funen. Bridgewalking Lillebælt is unique to Europe and you’ll have to go all the way down under to Sydney to find anything like it – so be sure to not miss it.

So next time you’re in Denmark, don’t forget to pay a visit to Bridgewalking Lillebælt for an experience of a lifetime and views that you’ll never forget!

// this post is not sponsored, but I did get the benefit of taking my camera on the bridge in return for this article. All opinions written in the post are my own and true.