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Easterhouse with kids: books, making and movement

Timber-clad exterior of Library at The Bridge with bare trees and a glazed lower level
Glasgow Life

Easterhouse makes a useful family day possible without crossing Glasgow between every activity. At The Bridge, the library, Platform arts centre and teaching pool offer different ways to read, play, make and move. A little farther along Auchinlea Road, Easterhouse Sports Centre hosts community sport and a term-time junior youth club. Choose the activity for your child’s age and check its own booking arrangements: a free library visit, a Pay-What-You-Like art class and a swimming session are three different plans, even when their doors are close together.

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Make The Bridge your starting point

The Bridge brings several family destinations together on Westerhouse Road. Platform is the arts centre at 1000 Westerhouse Road, Easterhouse, Glasgow G34 9JW; Library at The Bridge and Glasgow Club Easterhouse Pool share the cultural complex. This is not the other Platform on Argyle Street in Glasgow city centre. Decide which activity you are visiting rather than assuming that the whole building has a single timetable or admission charge.

Platform has step-free access to every level, five accessible toilets and wheelchair seating areas in its auditorium. There is free parking, including disabled spaces, with additional disabled parking at the Bogbain Road entrance. Easterhouse station is roughly a fifteen-to-twenty-minute walk; check current bus and rail arrangements before travelling. Call 0141 276 9661 about access or a particular booking.

The library opens Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10am–5pm and Tuesday and Thursday 10am–8pm; Sunday is closed. It has books, public computers, printing and study spaces, with free entry. Accessible toilets are on the ground and first floors, and there are baby-changing facilities, wheelchair access and a fixed hearing loop. The library telephone is 0141 276 9712. Borrowing uses Glasgow Libraries membership, while each organised activity has its own arrangements.

  • Platform at The Bridge

    Find creative classes, family shows and exhibitions at Easterhouse’s arts centre.

  • Library at The Bridge

    Browse books or join songs, play and building activities in Easterhouse’s cultural campus.

Find a gentle rhythm for little ones

For under-fives, Bookbug pairs songs, stories and rhymes with shared time beside a parent or carer. Library at The Bridge is listed on Monday 1–1.30pm, Friday 11–11.30am and Saturday 10.30–11am. Attendance is free with no ticket, but capacity is limited and places are first come, first served. Stay with your child and check the current meeting if you are making a special journey.

Stay and Play follows Bookbug on Monday from 1.30pm, Friday from 11.30am and Saturday from 11am. Baby-safe toys give children something to explore while their adults chat. It is a free drop-in for under-fives and families, with no finish time advertised. Bedtime Bookbug offers a different pace on Thursdays from 5.30pm: sleepy songs, stories and Bookbug in pyjamas. Its owner excludes the Christmas period from 22 December 2026 until 5 January 2027; confirm meetings around holidays.

Platform’s Play Café is for ages zero to five with an adult. Associate artists lead changing theatre, dance, music and making activities, with complimentary healthy drinks and snacks. The autumn programme is Saturday 11.15am–noon, through 19 December 2026, excluding 26 September. Pre-book weekly from the preceding Saturday, and include every attendee: a carer and child count as two people. Payment is Pay-What-You-Like, with £5 per class suggested. Do not arrive without confirmation; a full class offers a waiting list, not a place. Tell the venue if cancelling so another family can use it.

Give primary-aged children room to make and perform

Library at The Bridge’s Lego and Boardgames Kids Club gives children a relaxed Saturday 2–3pm of building and familiar or new games. It is free; check current attendance arrangements with the branch. Do not confuse it with the library’s adult-only Thursday Board Games Night. A weekly programme description is not a reserved dated session.

For ages five to eleven, Platform’s Saturday Art Club is artist-led making with work to take home. Bring old clothes and enthusiasm. Classes run 11am–noon and 1–2pm, but the same activity is delivered twice, so book only one. Children attend without their parents in the room; adults wait outside and can use the café. Book weekly from the preceding Saturday and wait for confirmation. Pay-What-You-Like means you decide the payment, with £5 per class suggested; pay online or in cash or by card at class. Cancel with the venue if you cannot attend.

Older children can choose Platform Dance for ages eight to twelve, Monday Night Drama for ages eight to sixteen, or Nu Gen art for ages eleven to sixteen. Dance draws on participants’ favourite music and performers on Thursdays 5–6.30pm. Drama meets Mondays 5.30–7pm in separate eight-to-eleven and twelve-to-sixteen groups. Nu Gen meets Tuesdays 5–6.30pm to experiment with drawing, painting, sculpture and new materials. These autumn classes are booked as a full block, with confirmation required before attending; £5 per class is suggested under Pay-What-You-Like, not a fixed mandatory admission. Ask about a taster rather than assuming one is available. The September–December block is not evidence of every intervening holiday date.

Try music together, or take a self-paced exhibition visit

Platform’s junior Guitar Music Space and Fiddle Music Space are ensemble groups for ages eight to sixteen. Professional musicians support beginners and more experienced players in learning, experimenting and making music together. The junior groups meet Tuesdays 5–6.30pm in the autumn block through 15 December 2026, excluding 13 October. The later evening groups are for ages sixteen and over, not younger children.

Both music groups use full-block booking and Pay-What-You-Like, with £5 per class suggested. Pay online or at class, for the block up front or each week, and wait for booking confirmation. Enquire about a guitar if needed; only a small number of fiddles are available to use, subject to availability. If a group is full, a waiting-list email is not a confirmed place. Drum lessons are currently full and are not presented here as an available alternative.

Glaswegians offers a different kind of looking together: a free, all-ages exhibition of portraits made by Cranhill Arts photographers between 1989 and 1993. The Platform display runs 19 September–28 November 2026, Monday–Saturday 10am–5pm and until 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Sundays are closed. It is one ongoing exhibition range, not daily booked sessions. The 19 September opening celebration and the 7 October library closure have already passed. Choose a few pictures and notice faces, work and everyday city life; the historical photographs are not a record of Glasgow today.

Plan swimming and community sport as separate visits

Easterhouse Pool has a twenty-metre main pool, up to 1.5 metres deep, and a separate teaching pool described by the owner as ideal for younger swimmers and families. The venue opens Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9am–2.45pm, Tuesday and Thursday 2.30–8.30pm, and Saturday 9am–4pm; Sunday is closed. Venue opening is not a family-swim timetable. Check the actual session, admission, supervision rules and booking on 0141 276 9696. Bring a 20p coin for a returnable locker deposit. Accessible toilets, wheelchair access and baby changing are available.

Easterhouse Sports Centre is a separate community destination on Auchinlea Road. The centre’s own contact address is 47 Auchinlea Road, Glasgow G34 9PQ; external event pages can use a different number and postcode, so use the operator’s information and call 0141 286 6782 if unsure. Reopened in October 2023 by Easterhouse Henosis, it hosts different sports operators rather than one universal drop-in class. It welcomes families, with wheelchair access, accessible toilets, baby changing, bike racks and on-site parking.

The free junior youth club is specifically for primary five, six and seven pupils, described by Glasgow Life as ages eight to eleven. It meets Fridays 3.30–5pm for games, sport, arts and crafts and STEM activities. No booking is needed, but places can be limited and are first come, first served. It does not run during school holidays and is not the separate evening teen club. For basketball, gymnastics or martial arts, use the named provider’s current class and complete fee information before booking; the centre’s host timetable alone is not a dated reservation.

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