Walking the streets that shaped a football legend
A new walking trail of murals and memories brings community pride to Aberdeen’s Printfield area.
Before Denis Law was a Ballon d’Or winner or a Manchester United icon, he was a kid playing kickabout in the back lanes of Printfield. Now, those same streets hold a new story, one painted in colour, memory and community.
Launching this Saturday, the Printfield 10 Denis Law Legacy Trail takes you through Law’s childhood neighbourhood, created by the people who live there today. It’s a ten-stop route of murals and moments from Denis’ life, told through local voices and artists who know the area well. Printfield sits just north of Aberdeen city centre, tucked between the River Don and Woodside. Once closely tied to the city’s textile industry, it’s changed over the decades but still holds a strong sense of local identity.
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Local voices, lasting impact
The idea started in the community and grew through collaboration, with local groups, artists, and Law’s own family helping to bring it to life. Designed by Fine Day Studio alongside New Practice, with murals by street art specialists Blank Walls, the trail looks beyond nostalgia, tying together memory, place and the people who live there now.
What makes it unusual is how rooted it feels. This isn’t a dry historical marker, it’s alive with stories, shaped by people who know the area best. One local youth described it simply: “The designs are so bright and make you feel happy. It makes the area look so much better.”
Marking the moment
Each stop reflects a part of Denis Law’s story, from his early days playing barefoot on cobbled streets to the highs of international football- but they also speak to the resilience and character of the neighbourhood he came from. For Colin Leonard of Fine Day Studio, that connection mattered most: “Denis wasn’t just a footballing icon—he never lost sight of his roots. Every stop on the trail offers a chance to spark pride in the place he called home.”
The official opening takes place at 3.15pm on Saturday at the corner of Printfield Walk and Printfield Terrace, but if you head along earlier, you’ll find family workshops, games and a community that’s already celebrating the trail as something that belongs to them.
