The Punishment

Street art doesn't usually stop you dead, but Slim Safont's mural in Ferryhill does. 'The Punishment' is a sprawling, visceral piece that sprawls across a building wall - all twisted figures and raw emotion rendered in spray paint. It's part of the NuART Aberdeen project, which has transformed this corner of Aberdeenshire into something genuinely worth the detour.

You're looking at art that actually engages with the space rather than being bolted onto it. Safont's work has this urgent quality - the kind of thing that makes you want to photograph it properly rather than just scroll past on Instagram. The piece commands attention without being pretty, which is precisely why it's interesting.

This isn't a formal gallery experience. You rock up, you look at it, you move on. Twenty minutes maximum, though you might linger longer if you're into street art or contemporary muralism. Free, obviously - it's on a building. Best visited in daylight; the colours pop properly then. Ferryhill itself is fairly modest, but if you're based at Deeside Holiday Park just down the road, it's an easy visit between proper walking and days out. The NuART project has left its mark across Aberdeen more broadly, so if you find yourself interested, there are other pieces to hunt out too.

Worth a stop if you're in the area. Not worth planning a trip around, but exactly the sort of thing that justifies taking the scenic route home.