Start with the Burrell Collection. It is free, it was Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2023, and it sits in Pollok Country Park on the edge of Pollokshields. Give it half a day, then walk out to see the Highland cattle.
Closer in, east Pollokshields has Tramway and the Hidden Gardens side by side on Albert Drive, a 2-minute walk from Pollokshields East station. The west side is quieter: Maxwell Park, the Burgh Hall and streets of Victorian villas. Almost everything on this page is free.
The Burrell Collection: opening times and visiting
The Burrell holds around 9,000 objects in a building set among the trees of Pollok Country Park. It reopened on 29 March 2022 after a £68 million refurbishment and was named Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2023.
- Open
- Monday to Thursday and Saturday 10am to 5pm; Friday and Sunday 11am to 5pm
- Cost
- Free. Some events and workshops charge or need booking.
- Allow
- 2 to 3 hours
- Address
- Pollok Country Park, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow G43 1AT
- Phone
- 0141 287 2550
- Getting there
- Train from Glasgow Central to Pollokshaws West (about 10 minutes, then under 5 minutes' walk) or Shawlands (about 10 minutes' walk). Buses 57 and 57A on Pollokshaws Road, 3 at Shawholm Crescent, 34 and 34A on Dumbreck Road. A free electric shuttle runs from the Pollokshaws Road gate.
- Parking
- Burrell car park, entered from Pollok Avenue. Charged 10am to 6pm: £1.50 an hour for 1 to 3 hours, £7 up to 4 hours, £12 for 5 to 8 hours. Card, coins or RingGo. Blue Badge holders park free in 19 bays at the front.
- Accessibility
- Step-free from the car park to the ground floor, lifts to all three floors, manual wheelchairs to borrow, hearing loop, BSL and captions on displays. Two Changing Places toilets and nine accessible toilets. Drop-off at the Heritage entrance. Assistance dogs only.
What to see
- Rooms from Hutton Castle, rebuilt inside the museum.
- A stone archway set into the fabric of the building.
- The changing programme: in autumn 2026 that includes the Drawing Inspiration exhibition (to 26 November), themed tours and family sessions on Saturdays. See What's on.
Bring a packed lunch if you like. The Burrell has five indoor picnic areas where you can eat your own food, plus baby changing and a quiet room with space for feeding.
The car park machines take coins but do not give change. National Trust for Scotland members do not get free parking here.
Pollok Country Park
Pollok Country Park is Glasgow's largest park and the only country park inside the city. It is open at all times and free to walk in.
Highland cattle: the Pollok Fold
The park's herd of Highland cattle, the Pollok Fold, was started by the Maxwell family around 200 years ago. Today it has about 30 breeding cows and three bulls, and they live outdoors all year in the fields along Pollok Avenue.
- Calves are born between March and June, so spring is the best time to see the young ones.
- From April to mid-October the council runs free field talks at 11am, meeting at the dog monument on Pollok Avenue. No booking is needed.
- In summer there are also cattle wash days and photography sessions, which have limited places. Dates are on What's on.
Gardens and play
Near Pollok House are walled gardens, a herbaceous garden and a wildlife garden. Families will find a dinosaur trail of bones and a fairy village in the walled garden, and a play park beside the Burrell.
The council closed the paths and gardens connected to Pollok House from 16 June 2025 until further notice, so the gardens near the house may be shut. Check glasgow.gov.uk/pollokcountrypark before you go.
Getting around the park
- Shuttle
- A free electric shuttle links the Pollokshaws Road entrance, Pollok House and the Burrell. It runs about every 30 minutes from 10am to 6.15pm, with no service from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.
- Parking
- Use the Burrell car park (prices above). There are six electric vehicle charge points at the Riverside car park by Pollok House.
- Cycling
- National Cycle Network routes 7 and 75 pass through the park. The park also has mountain bike trails.
- Toilets
- At the Burrell
Pollok parkrun
Pollok parkrun is a free, timed 5km run every Saturday at 9.30am. Register online before your first run and bring your printed or phone barcode.
Pollok House: opening times and closure
Pollok House has been closed for conservation work since November 2023, and the paths around the house have been closed since 16 June 2025 until further notice. Check nts.org.uk before you plan a visit.
The house was built in 1752 for the Maxwells, who held the Pollok estate for nearly 700 years. It is known for one of Britain's finest collections of Spanish art, including works by El Greco, Goya and Murillo. Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald gave the house to the city in 1966, and the National Trust for Scotland now runs it.
National Trust for Scotland, Pollok House: 0141 616 6410.
Tramway
Tramway is one of Glasgow's main venues for contemporary art and performance, in a converted tram depot at 25 Albert Drive. Exhibitions are generally free; shows are ticketed.
- Open
- Building Wednesday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm; galleries open from 12 noon. Monday and Tuesday are not listed as opening days. Hours change around performances and previews.
- Cost
- Exhibitions generally free; performances ticketed. Check each event page.
- Address
- 25 Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE
- Phone
- 0141 276 0950
- Getting there
- Pollokshields East station is a 2-minute walk. Buses 3, 4, 38, 57 and 59 stop nearby on Pollokshaws Road.
- Accessibility
- All public areas are wheelchair accessible, with a lift to the mezzanine and first floor and an accessible toilet on every level. Baby changing on the ground floor. Pollokshields East station has no step-free access.
The building went up in stages between 1894 and 1912 as the Coplawhill tram works. Horses that pulled the early trams were stabled on the first floor until electrification in 1901. It became the Museum of Transport in 1964, then opened as an arts venue in 1988 with Peter Brook's nine-hour The Mahabharata. Tramway hosted the Turner Prize in 2015, and Scottish Ballet has its headquarters at the back.
On now
- Harold Offeh: The Mothership Collective 2:0, to 7 February 2027.
- Raisa Kabir, 20 November 2026 to 16 May 2027.
- Family theatre in December, including Tortoise in a Nutshell's Una Imagines (9 to 19 December 2026).
Full listings are on What's on. There is a café bar inside.
Parking is on-street only. Do not use the gurdwara car park next door.
The Hidden Gardens
The Hidden Gardens is a quiet walled garden behind Tramway, on the site of an old plant nursery. It opened on 21 June 2003, created by the arts group NVA after 18 months of talking with local people, as a sanctuary garden dedicated to peace.
- Address
- 25a Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE. Enter through Tramway or from the Pollokshaws Road gate.
- Phone
- 0141 433 2722
- Cost
- Free
- Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible at both entrances, with wide stone paths and ramps into the Medicinal Courtyard and Boilerhouse. No toilets in the garden; use Tramway's.
- Rules
- Assistance dogs only. No bikes inside; racks at the Pollokshaws Road gate.
| Days | April to September | October to March |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesday to Thursday | 10am to 5pm | 10am to 3.30pm |
| Friday | 10am to 7pm | 10am to 3.30pm |
| Saturday | 10am to 7pm | 12 noon to 3.30pm |
| Sunday | 12 noon to 6pm | 12 noon to 3.30pm |
The garden's website still carries an old closure notice, though Tramway says it is open. Check thehiddengardens.org.uk before you go, especially in winter.
Maxwell Park and the Burgh Hall
Maxwell Park is west Pollokshields' local park: a pond with swans, a play area, a tree-lined avenue and the red sandstone Burgh Hall at its edge. Maxwell Park station is right beside it, under 10 minutes from Glasgow Central. The park is open at all times.
- Sir John Stirling-Maxwell gave the park to the burgh, and it opened in 1890 together with the hall. It had been farmland until about 1850.
- Many of its plants came from the Pollok House gardens, and one bed remembers the plant hunter George Forrest.
- The Hamilton Fountain was given by the daughters of one of the area's first families, in memory of their brothers.
- A large rock in the south-west corner, near where a barrage balloon was moored in the Second World War, is known locally as the elephant stone.
Pollokshields Burgh Hall
H.E. Clifford designed the hall in dark red sandstone, with a 60ft tower and the Maxwell arms flanked by lions above the porch. It is Category A listed. Look for the family motto carved in the stone: "Do good while the holly is green".
The hall served as the burgh's headquarters for barely a year before Glasgow took Pollokshields over in 1891. When the council planned to sell it in the 1980s, local people formed a trust and bought it for £1. Today it is a community-run venue for events, classes and hire, so it is not open as an attraction. You may get inside during Doors Open Days in September.
Pollokshields Burgh Hall, 70 Glencairn Drive, G41 4LL. 0141 438 0079. Maxwell Park is at 126 Terregles Avenue, G41 4DQ.
Queen's Park
Queen's Park is a 148-acre park east of Pollokshields, and its flagpole hill gives one of the best views over the city. It is about a 15-minute walk from Tramway, or take the train to Queens Park station on the Cathcart Circle.
- A pond, a glasshouse area and play areas.
- Summer events at Queen's Park Arena, which in 2026 ran from about 2 July to 2 August with open-air cinema and gigs.
- Cafés along Victoria Road, including Ginesi's gelato by the gate at 455 Victoria Road.
- One of the city's busiest Voi e-bike hire stations, if you want to ride on.
Queen's Park, Langside Road, G42 9QL. Open at all times.
Bellahouston Park and House for an Art Lover
Bellahouston Park is a large park just west of Dumbreck, with sculptures and summer gigs. Walk from Dumbreck station, which has step-free access.
Inside the park, House for an Art Lover was built between 1989 and 1996 from a design Charles Rennie Mackintosh drew in 1901. It has a café and a walled garden, and is open daily 10am to 5pm.
House for an Art Lover, 10 Dumbreck Road, G41 5BW, 0141 483 1600. Bellahouston Park, 16 Dumbreck Road, G41 5BW. Check entry prices and event closures before you go.
Places of worship
Pollokshields is home to Sikh, Muslim and Christian communities, and several places of worship welcome respectful visitors. The gurdwara on Albert Drive is the easiest to visit: everyone is welcome to share the free langar meal.
Visiting with respect
- Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees.
- Take off your shoes where asked.
- At a gurdwara everyone covers their head; scarves are provided. No tobacco or alcohol.
- At mosques, avoid Friday midday prayers (roughly 1pm to 2.30pm) unless you are attending. Women may be asked to use a separate entrance or area.
- Ask before you photograph people, and phone ahead if you are coming as a group.
| Name | Faith | Address | Hours and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib | Sikh | 37 Albert Drive, G41 2PE (next to Tramway). 0141 423 8288 | Daily 7am to 8pm. Visitors welcomed; langar and tea served. Opened in 2013 and described as Scotland's first purpose-built gurdwara. |
| Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara | Sikh | 32 St Andrews Drive, G41 5SG. 0141 429 2763 | Daily 9am to 6.30pm. Long-established community gurdwara; langar served. |
| Masjid Noor | Muslim | 79 Forth Street, G41 2TA. 0141 429 3383 | Daily 5am to 10pm. Main local mosque by the Forth Street shops; women's area. |
| Madrasa Taleem ul Islam | Muslim | 159-161 Nithsdale Road, G41 5QS. 0141 424 0787 | Mosque and madrasa in a converted church. |
| Pollokshields Church of Scotland | Church of Scotland | 525 Shields Road, G41 2RF. 0141 423 4000 | Sunday worship, typically 11am. Its spire is the area's tallest landmark. |
| Sherbrooke Mosspark Parish Church | Church of Scotland | 240 Nithsdale Road, G41 5AD. 0141 427 1968 | Stained glass and a pipe organ; also a concert venue. 5 minutes from Dumbreck station. |
| St Ninian's Scottish Episcopal Church | Episcopal | 1 Albert Drive, G41 2PE. 0141 423 1247 | Victorian Gothic church. Sunday morning and Thursday 10am services. |
| St Albert's Catholic Church | Roman Catholic | 153 Albert Drive, G41 2NE. 0141 429 5287 | Parish church among the Albert Drive shops. The church is currently closed and Sunday Mass is being held at St Helen's, so check with the parish before visiting. |
There is no Hindu mandir in G41. The nearest is Om Hindu Mandir, 1 La Belle Place, G3 7LH, about 3 miles away in the Park area. Visitors are welcome; remove your shoes.
Sport
Pollokshields has a long sporting history, and Titwood is its centrepiece. Clydesdale Cricket Club has played there since the 1870s, and the ground has hosted Scotland internationals, from a one-day match against India in 2007 to T20s against the Netherlands and Nepal in 2025.
- Clydesdale Cricket Club, Titwood, 22 Beaton Road, G41 4LA (0141 423 1463). League cricket on Saturdays from May to August. The clubhouse has a bar, beer garden and sport on TV.
- Pollok parkrun: free 5km every Saturday at 9.30am in Pollok Country Park.
- Glasgow Club Bellahouston, 31 Bellahouston Drive, G52 1HH (0141 276 0767). Public pool, refurbished in 2025, plus gym and badminton. Monday to Friday 6am to 10pm, Saturday 8am to 6pm, Sunday 8am to 8pm.
- Mountain biking on the Pollok Country Park trails, where Glasgow Riders runs youth cross-country races on summer Thursday evenings.
Titwood Lawn Tennis Club, Titwood Bowling Club and Haggs Castle Golf Club are members' clubs, not open to drop-in visitors.
Architecture spotting
Pollokshields was one of Britain's first garden suburbs, built from the 1850s on Maxwell family land. Its two halves look very different, which makes it rewarding to wander.
- West Pollokshields: villas in big gardens on curving, tree-lined streets, where shops were not allowed. Look for The Knowe at 301 Albert Drive, Alexander "Greek" Thomson's earliest surviving villa, and Thomson's Ellisland at 200 Nithsdale Road, with chimney pots shaped like lotus flowers.
- East Pollokshields: three-storey red sandstone tenements on a grid, with the shops. Look for H.E. Clifford's Art Nouveau tenements at 17-57 Fotheringay Road, the Millar and Lang building at 46-50 Darnley Street with Minerva on the roof, and the Edwardian Baroque library on Leslie Street.
- Wally closes: tiled tenement entrance halls. Pollokshields Heritage says East Pollokshields has the best wally tiles in Glasgow.
Most villas are private homes. Admire them from the pavement. For routes, maps and stop-by-stop notes, see Heritage walks, and for the story behind the buildings, History.
With children
Pollok Country Park is the best family day out, and it costs nothing. Pair the Burrell's family sessions with the play park, the Highland cattle and the walled garden.
- Pollok Country Park: a play park next to the Burrell with swings, slides, climbing frames and a picnic field. The woodland paths are mostly paved and fine for buggies and bikes. Find the dinosaur bones and fairy village in the walled garden.
- The Burrell: free Discover! family sessions on Saturdays to 20 December 2026, baby changing, a quiet room with feeding space and indoor picnic areas.
- Highland cattle: free 11am field talks from April to mid-October; the calves arrive in spring.
- Tramway: family theatre in December and play installations for children. Baby changing on the ground floor.
- Maxwell Park: a play area and a pond with swans, beside Maxwell Park station.
- Maxwell Square Play Park, 29 Melville Street, G41 2JL: a playground, games court and walking loop in east Pollokshields.
- Queen's Park: a playground and pond, with the flagpole viewpoint above.
Further afield
From Shields Road Subway you can reach Govan, for the free Riverside Museum of transport, and Kelvinhall, for free Kelvingrove, without changing. Glasgow Science Centre at Pacific Quay charges £15.50 for adults and £12 for children aged 3 to 15; under-3s go free.
Free things to do
- See the Burrell Collection, every day.
- Meet the Pollok Fold Highland cattle and join a field talk in season.
- Run Pollok parkrun on a Saturday morning.
- Explore the walled gardens and woodland of Pollok Country Park.
- Visit Tramway's exhibitions.
- Sit in the Hidden Gardens.
- Share langar at Glasgow Gurdwara on Albert Drive.
- Walk a self-guided heritage trail. Pollokshields Heritage has three printed leaflets and two free audio trails.
- Climb to the Queen's Park flagpole for the view.
- Drop into Pollokshields Library, 30 Leslie Street, opened in 1907. It has free wifi and PCs.
- Go inside buildings that are usually closed during Doors Open Days in September.
Rainy-day options
Glasgow gets rain on more than half the days of the year, so plan for it. These are all indoors and close by.
- The Burrell: free, with a café and indoor picnic areas. Take the free shuttle from the park gate to stay drier.
- Tramway: free exhibitions and a café bar, 2 minutes from Pollokshields East station. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
- Pollokshields Library: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10am to 5pm; Tuesday and Thursday 10am to 8pm. Closed Sunday.
- A long lunch on Albert Drive: chai, sweets and Pakistani street food. See Eat and drink.
- A swim at Glasgow Club Bellahouston.
- The city's other free museums: Kelvingrove and the Riverside Museum, both reachable by Subway from Shields Road.
Kelvingrove and the Riverside Museum keep the same hours as the Burrell: Monday to Thursday and Saturday 10am to 5pm, Friday and Sunday 11am to 5pm.
Sources
Checked 13 October 2026.
- Burrell Collection: plan your visit
- Burrell Collection: what's on
- Glasgow City Council: Pollok Fold events
- Glasgow with Kids: things to do in Pollok Park
- Pollok parkrun
- National Trust for Scotland
- Wikipedia: Pollok House
- Tramway: visit us and what's on
- Wikipedia: Tramway (arts centre)
- The Hidden Gardens: visit and our story
- Scotland's Garden and Landscape Heritage: Maxwell Park and Pollokshields Burgh Hall
- Wikipedia: Pollokshields Burgh Hall
- Pollokshields Burgh Hall
- Clayton Hotels: things to do in Glasgow's Southside
- SLTN: Queen's Park Arena summer schedule
- Glasgow City Council: cycle hire six months on
- Wikipedia: Titwood
- Pollokshields Heritage: trails and notable architecture
- Wikipedia: Pollokshields
- Wikipedia: Pollokshields Library
- Glasgow Life: Riverside Museum and Kelvingrove
- Glasgow Science Centre: ticket prices
- Met Office: Paisley climate averages
- Opening hours, addresses and phone numbers for parks, places of worship, sports clubs and House for an Art Lover: Google Places listings, 13 October 2026