Thousands of vehicles make the crossing every day.
Nicola Roy Spare Time writer
13:24, 28 Feb 2026
The bridge looks extremely steep from afar(Image: Getty)
A bridge so steep it’s been dubbed the ‘rollercoaster bridge’ is located in Japan and sees thousands of vehicles cross it daily. Often regarded as one of the steepest in the world, the Eshima Ohashi bridge links Matsue, in the Shimane Prefecture, with Sakaiminato in the Tottori Prefecture.
People say they have ‘nightmares’ after seeing photographs and footage of this bridge, which cost an eye-watering £119m to construct. In some images, it looks as though vehicles must climb at an extremely sharp angle.
It’s approximately 1.1 miles long, rising to 147 feet as it spans the Nakaumi Lake.
The bridge was constructed between 1997 and 2004, replacing a drawbridge that previously existed there. That structure, however, had some significant design flaws.
For instance, it could only handle 4,000 vehicles daily. Today, roughly 14,900 vehicles make the journey across in a 24-hour period, reports the Express.
It was also blocked by ships for approximately eight minutes at a time, and only vehicles weighing under 14 tons were permitted to use it.
In terms of its gradient, it measures approximately 6.1% on the Shimane side, which is where it’s often photographed from. On the opposite side, it’s marginally lower at 5.1%.
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Images and clips of the bridge frequently cause a stir on social media, sparking discussion about its ‘terrifying’ appearance. One individual shared their thoughts on Reddit, saying: “One of my lifelong reoccurring nightmares involves bridges that look like this.”
Another wrote: “Oh. My. God. I get terrified shivers just looking at these pictures. Massive phobia of heights, I don’t think I’d do well on that bad boy.”
However, it’s important to bear in mind that photos of this bridge are often captured using a telephoto lens, which tends to make it appear far more dramatic than it truly is. It’s still quite steep, and extra caution is needed during the winter months to prevent it from becoming blanketed in ice and snow.
According to the Japan National Tourist Organisation, it’s frequently named one of the ‘craziest’ or ‘scariest’ bridges. Even if you’re without a car, you can walk or cycle across it, and it offers an excellent backdrop for photographs.
Additionally, telescopes and binoculars are available for tourists to gaze out across the lake when the weather permits.
The UK’s largest wildlife crossing will be completed by 2027
The £460million bridge that will help deer, badgers and barn owls in the UK cross safely(Image: National Highways)
A groundbreaking wildlife bridge is under construction in Gloucestershire, with completion expected for 2027. The Gloucestershire Way bridge, set to be the UK’s largest wildlife crossing, is part of the A417 Missing Link project, an initiative designed to build new roads while preserving the Cotswolds ‘ natural beauty and wildlife.
The wildlife bridge is a pivotal component of the A417 project, with an estimated cost of £460million. The wildlife corridor, which crosses the new A417 dual carriageway between Gloucester and Cirencester, will measure 37 metres in length, featuring a 27-metre stretch of grassland and a hedgerow.
The bridge will also accommodate walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
Hedgerows on either side will facilitate bats and barn owls in using the bridge as a commuting route, whilst grassland and additional trees will ensure deer, badgers and reptiles can cross safely.
Gavin Jones, Kier’s project director for the scheme, commented: “The green bridge is the centrepiece of the scheme, linking up habitats and the landscape on one side of the road to the other.
“The focus is the ecology, the animals that are going to use it, but not forgetting the people – it’s going to be a footpath as well. We’re on budget, ahead of programme, and [have] a good safety record. I couldn’t be prouder of the team.”
Nicola Bell, National Highways’ executive director of major projects, said: “Our work goes beyond just operating and maintaining our roads and by collaborating more closely with Natural England, we can ensure that our infrastructure projects deliver better outcomes for both people and nature.”
Marian Spain, Natural England’s chief executive, said: “Projects like the A417 showcase the positive outcomes for people and nature that can be achieved by working closely together.”
She continued: “This memorandum is an important step in embedding this open, early, constructive communications between Natural England and National Highways to deliver our shared objectives of sustainable development.”
The trail is an 8.5-mile family-friendly walk through the Peak District with stunning viaduct views, tunnels and plenty of cafes along the flat, accessible route perfect for pushchairs
The trail is 8.5 miles long in total (Image: Shawn Williams via Getty Images)
Featuring views of a bridge looking like something straight out of Harry Potter, this Peak District ramble will delight youngsters without being too demanding on their small legs this half-term.
The Monsal Trail is a beloved Derbyshire spot that traces the route of the old Manchester to London Midland Railway line, which closed down in the 1960s.
These days, it serves a different function – guiding ramblers along the path, through tunnels and across the magnificent railway viaduct.
A recent visitor described their experience on TripAdvisor, stating: “For enthusiasts of railway walks, this route stands out as one of the finest in the UK.
It offers a captivating combination of stunning views, numerous tunnels, and impressive viaducts that showcase the area’s historical and engineering heritage.”
Along the way, there are three cafés-two conveniently located directly on the trail and one set slightly back-providing excellent opportunities to rest and refresh. “
The Route
To reach the trail’s starting point, you’ll need to begin behind Hassop Station, walking past the front of the building and proceeding beneath the bridge.
The route then continues as you pass Longstone Station, Headstone Tunnel and the Monsal Viaduct – all standout and characteristic features of this walk.
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Two shorter tunnels await before you arrive at Miller’s Dale Station. To reach the trail’s end, you’ll need to press on along the viaducts, bearing left beneath the dramatic cliffs of Chee Tor towering above – completing an 8.5-mile route.
What makes this walk so beloved and ideal for a half-term outing is how accessible it is; suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs and young children alike.
The level terrain allows for an effortless stroll through the dales, whilst the multiple refreshment points dotted along the way make it perfect for little ones requiring a quick loo stop or energy boost.
Cafés
Before your adventure even kicks off, you can pop into Hassop Station for breakfast, all-day brunch, lunch and loads of sweet treats.
Alternatively, you can simply pause for a cuppa, getting fuelled up before a lengthy ramble through the Peak District at this handily positioned café.
It also features shops for a quick browse, stocking books, accessories, homeware and more. Plus, as it’s the trail’s starting point for many visitors, they offer bike hire to tackle the route in style.
One customer commented: “Visited the café three times in our week. By far the best place for breakfast, lunch, coffee and cake. Also the best Bakewell slice we had! The trail is stunning and such a great café to visit before and/or after was a great find we’ll be returning for!”
The refurbished Refreshment Room at Millers Dale Station provides another excellent place to pause for delicious food and refreshments during your journey.
The building stands as a stunning homage to the railway history of the trail and provides ample room to relax or shelter from the weather, complete with toilet facilities and refreshments.
One visitor said: “Stopped here for a bite to eat after a walk, absolutely wonderful café! The coffee was one of the best I’ve tried! Lovely customer service by all staff. Will 100% be going back.”
Where to stay
The Monsal Trail lies in the heart of the Peak District, with Bakewell positioned at one end and Blackwell Mill, near Buxton, at the opposite end.
This positioning makes it a favoured route for visitors exploring these major towns who fancy extending their stroll into a weekend break. Alternatively, it’s just over an hour’s drive from Derby city centre.
Bakewell is famous for the much-loved Bakewell Tart, available in practically every café and coffee shop throughout the town. The area also boasts numerous pubs offering more substantial meals following a lengthy day’s ramble.
Buxton, meanwhile, is a spa town, renowned for its natural spring water and status as Britain’s highest market town. Visitors typically choose a weekend break here for the spa facilities, tranquillity and easy access to excellent walking and cycling routes.
Four players have been suspended by the NBA in connection with a brawl that broke out during the Detroit Pistons-Charlotte Hornets game Monday night, the league announced Wednesday.
It was the same four players that were ejected during the Pistons’ 110-104 victory at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Detroit center Isaiah Stewart was suspended seven games for leaving the bench area, aggressively entering an on-court altercation and fighting. This is Stewart’s fifth suspension in his six-year NBA career. One resulted from an altercation with the Lakers’ LeBron James in 2021 and another from an altercation that spilled into the stands during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last year.
“The length of Stewart’s suspension is based in part on his repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts,” the NBA said in a statement.
Charlotte forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabaté were each suspended four games for fighting and escalating the altercation. Detroit center Jalen Duren received a two-game suspension for initiating the altercation and fighting.
The incident took place midway through the third quarter after Duren was fouled by Diabaté while driving toward the basket. Duren approached Diabaté and the two men appeared to bump into each other. Duren then appeared to hit Diabaté in the face with an open hand to ignite a brawl that lasted more than 30 seconds.
Bridges and Duren exchanged punches at one point, and Stewart left the bench and fought with Bridges.
The suspensions begin Wednesday, when the Pistons play the Raptors in Toronto and the Hornets host the Atlanta Hawks.
Soon after the punishments were announced, Diabaté posted an apology to “the Hornets coaches, staff, front office, teammates, and best fans in the NBA” on his Instagram Story.
“As a player, I pride myself on my passion and my commitment to giving everything on the court during every possession,” he wrote. “However, in the heat of a highly competitive and physical matchup, I allowed my emotions to get the better of me, and for that, I am truly sorry.
“I understand the responsibility I carry as a professional athlete and as a role model. I view this as a learning experience and am fully committed to growing from it both as a player and a person. … Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A fight between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter of Monday night’s game, resulted in four player ejections.
Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges were tossed, along with Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. Hornets coach Charles Lee was ejected in the fourth quarter after he had to be restrained from going after an official while arguing a call.
The Pistons won the game 110-104.
Duren had the ball and was driving toward the basket with just over seven minutes left in the third period when he was fouled by Diabate. Duren turned around to get face-to-face with Diabate and the two appeared to butt heads. Duren then hit Diabate in the face with his open right hand, starting a confrontation that lasted more than 30 seconds and ultimately ended with a brief police presence on the floor.
While Pistons forward Tobias Harris was holding Diabate back, Diabate threw a punch at Duren. Duren walked away and Bridges charged at him, throwing a left-handed punch. Duren retaliated with a punch. Diabate attempted to charge again at Duren and had to be held back.
Stewart left the bench to confront Bridges, who responded with a punch, and the players tussled. At one point, Stewart got Bridges in a headlock and delivered mutiple left-handed blows to his head.
Duren called it an “overly competitive game.”
“Emotions were flaring,” Duren said. “At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen. Everybody was just playing hard.”
Duren said that opposing NBA teams have been trying to “get in our head” all season.
“This isn’t the first time that people have tried to be like extra aggressive with us and talk to us, whatever the case may be,” Duren said. “But as a group we have done an OK job of handling that energy and intensity. At the end of the day, emotions got high with everybody being competitive. Things happen.”
Duren did not say how the fight started, referring reporters instead to the video replays.
The Hornets did not make Bridges and Diabate available for interviews after the game.
However, Bridges took to Instagram late Monday night to say: “Sorry Hornets nation! Sorry Hornets Organization! Always gonna protect my teammates forever.”
“It looked like two guys got into a heated conversation and it just kind of spiraled from there,” Lee said.
Crew chief John Goble said in a pool report after the game that the players were ejected because they “engaged in fighting activity during the dead ball. After review, we assessed fighting fouls and by rule they were ejected from the game.”
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff defended his players after the game.
“Our guys deal with a lot, but they’re not the ones that initiated, they’re not the ones who crossed the line tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “It was clear, through frustration, because of what J.D. (Duren) was doing, that they crossed the line. I hate that it got as ugly as it got.
“That’s not something that you ever want to see,” Bickerstaff added, “but if a guy throws a punch at you, you have a responsibility to protect yourself. That’s what happened tonight. If you go back and watch the film, they’re the ones who initiated crossing the line and our guy had to defend himself.”
Tensions continued to mount at the Spectrum Center after the fight.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Lee was ejected and had to be restrained by Hornets guard Brandon Miller while yelling at officials for a no-call after Charlotte’s Grant Williams collided with Detroit’s Paul Reed.
“Grant was walking down the paint and barely touched somebody and the guy fell over and that is what we are going to call a foul,” Lee said. “They have a hard job to make these calls, but I don’t think that was the consistency with which that had been called the rest of the game.”
As for being ejected, Lee said he has to have more control of emotions moving forward.
Before we see elephants at Elephant Valley in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we come face to face with destruction, only the wreckage is beautiful. A long, winding path takes guests around and under felled trees. Aged gray tree hunks form arches, for instance, over bridges that tower over clay-colored paths with hoof prints.
The design is meant to reorient us, to take us on a trail walked not by humans but traversed and carved by elephants, a creature still misunderstood, vilified and hunted for its cataclysmic-like ability to reshape land, and sometimes communities.
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“It starts,” says Kristi Burtis, vice president of wildlife care for the Safari Park, “by telling the story that elephants are ecosystem engineers.”
Elephant Valley will open March 5 as the newest experience at the Escondido park, its aim to bring guests closer than ever to the zoo’s eight elephants, which range in age from 7 to 36, while more heavily focusing on conservation. The centerpiece of the 13-acre-plus parkland is a curved bridge overlooking a savanna, allowing elephants to walk under guests. But there are also nooks such as a cave that, while not previewed at a recent media event, will allow visitors to view elephants on their level.
In a shift from, say, the Safari Park’s popular tram tour, there are no fences and visible enclosures. Captive elephants remain a sometimes controversial topic, and the zoo’s herd is a mix of rescues and births, but the goal was to create a space where humans are at once removed and don’t impede on the relative free-roaming ability of the animals by keeping guests largely elevated. As an example of just how close people can get to the herd, there was a moment of levity at the event when one of the elephants began flinging what was believed to be a mixture of dirt and feces up onto the bridge.
An aerial view of Elephant Valley at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, home to eight elephants.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Our guests are going to be able to see the hairs on an elephant,” says Kristi Burtis, vice president of wildlife care for the Safari Park.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Our guests are going to be able to see the hairs on an elephant,” Burtis says. “They can see their eyes. They can see the eyelashes. They can see how muscular their trunks are. It’s really going to be a different experience.”
Elephant Valley, complete with a multistory lodge with open-air restaurants and bars, boasts a natural design that isn’t influenced by the elephant’s African home so much as it is in conversation with it. The goal isn’t to displace us, but to import communal artistry — Kenyan wood and beadwork can be found in the pathways, resting spaces and more — as a show of admiration rather than imitation.
“We’re not going to pretend that we’re taking people to Africa,” says Fri Forjindam, now a creative executive with Universal’s theme parks but previously a lead designer on Elephant Valley via her role as a chief development officer at Mycotoo, a Pasadena-based experiential design firm.
“That is a slippery slope of theming that can go wrong really fast,” she adds. “How do we recognize where we are right now, which is near San Diego? How do we populate this plane with plants that are indigenous to the region? The story of coexistence is important. We’re not extracting from Africa, we’re learning. We’re not extracting from elephants, we’re sharing information.”
But designing a space that is elephant-first yet also built for humans presented multiple challenges, especially when the collaborating teams were aiming to construct multiple narratives around the animals. Since meetings about Elephant Valley began around 2019, the staff worked to touch on themes related to migration and conservation. And there was also a desire to personalize the elephants.
“Where can we also highlight each of the elephants by name, so they aren’t just this huge herd of random gray creatures?” Forjindam says. “You see that in the lodge.”
Two of eight elephants eat during an Elephant Valley preview.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
That lodge, the Mkutano House — a phrase that means “gathering” in Swahili — should provide opportunities for guests to linger, although zoo representatives say reservations are recommended for those who wish to dine in the space (there will also be a walk-up, to-go window). Menus have yet to be released, but the ground floor of the structure, boasting hut-like roofing designed to blend into the environment, features close views of the elephant grazing pool as well as an indoor space with a centerpiece tree beneath constellation-like lighting to mimic sunrises and sunsets.
Throughout there are animal wood carvings and beadwork, the latter often hung from sculptures made of tree branches. The ceiling, outfitted with colorful, cloth tapestries designed to move with the wind, aims to create less friction between indoor and outdoor environments.
There are, of course, research and educational goals of the space as well. The Safari Park works, for instance, with the Northern Rangelands Trust and Loisaba Conservancy in Kenya, with an emphasis on studying human-elephant conflict and finding no-kill resolutions. Nonprofits and conservation groups estimate that there are today around 415,000 elephants in Africa, and the African savanna elephant is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Water areas in Elephant Valley have been redesigned with ramps and steps to make it easier for the elephants to navigate. The hope is to inspire play.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Studies of the zoo’s young elephants is shared with the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in the hopes of delivering care to elephant youth to prevent orphanage. Additionally, the Safari Park has done extensive examination into the endotheliotropic herpes virus. “The data that we collect from elephants here, you can’t simply get from elephants in the wild,” Burtis says.
One of the two entrances to Elephant Valley is outfitted with bee boxes; bees are known to be a natural elephant deterrent and can help in preventing the animals from disrupting crops or communities. To encourage more natural behavior, the plane is outfitted with timed feeders in an attempt to encourage movement throughout the acreage and establish a level of real-life unpredictability in hunting for resources. Water areas have been redesigned with ramps and steps to make it easier for the elephants to navigate.
The view from Elephant Valley’s Mkutano House, a two-story dining destination in the new space at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
With Elephant Valley, Forjindam says the goal was to allow visitors to “observe safely in luxury — whatever that is — but not from a position of power, more as a cohabitor of the Earth, with as much natural elements as possible. It’s not to impose dominance. Ultimately, it needed to feel natural. It couldn’t feel like a man-made structure, which is an antiquated approach to any sort of safari experience where animals are the product, a prize. In this experience, this is the elephant’s home.”
And the resulting feel of Elephant Valley is that we, the paying customers, are simply their house guests.
