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Pollokshaws with kids: library stories, making and music

A colourful alphabet rug, blue chairs and book displays in the children’s area of Pollokshaws Library
Glasgow Life

Pollokshaws has a useful family starting point on Shawbridge Street: a library with children’s books, songs and stories for under-fives, and making sessions for older children. The Burgh Hall offers a different outing when an advertised concert or screening suits your family. Keep those ticketed occasions separate from an everyday library visit, and check the actual activity time before travelling. This guide stays with Pollokshaws venues rather than treating Pollok, Pollokshields or every Southside attraction as the same neighbourhood.

Updated

Start with a book-browsing visit on Shawbridge Street

Pollokshaws Library opened in 1968 and has books, study spaces, public computers, printing and free Wi-Fi. Its children’s area is a useful place to share a reading stop before or after a group. Entry is free. Joining Glasgow Libraries gives access to borrowing and the wider library service, but you can plan a visit around browsing and choosing books rather than needing to attend a class.

There is something else to look for during ordinary opening hours: a stained-glass window by Keira McLean commemorating John Maclean. The operator describes it as a celebration of his life and legacy. This is a feature inside the working library, so use the branch’s opening times rather than expecting a separate museum visit.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday opening is 10am–5pm; Tuesday and Thursday 10am–8pm; Sunday is closed. Glasgow Life lists wheelchair access, an accessible toilet, baby changing and baby feeding. Assistance dogs are welcome and water is available. There is no dedicated car park. Call 0141 276 1535 if a particular access facility matters to your visit.

  • Pollokshaws Library

    Browse children’s books, share a reading stop and see the John Maclean stained-glass window in this Shawbridge Street library.

Choose songs and stories with your under-five

Bookbug is for babies, toddlers and children under five accompanied by parents or carers. Songs, stories and rhymes make it a shared family activity, with the chance for little ones to interact with others. It is a different pace from sitting through a longer performance or looking for an older-child workshop.

Glasgow Life lists Pollokshaws Library Bookbug on Wednesdays 11–11.30am and Saturdays 10.30–11am. The programme is free and drop-in with no ticket, but spaces are limited and allocated first come, first served. Stay with your child and leave time to settle in rather than assuming an advertised drop-in means a reserved place.

Use the current branch information when a particular date matters, especially around holidays. The weekly timetable tells you about the programme; it is not a promise that every holiday meeting will run unchanged. The library’s baby-changing and feeding facilities can help with the rest of the visit.

  • Bookbug at Pollokshaws Library

    Songs, stories and rhymes for babies and children under five with parents and carers.

  • Pollokshaws Library

    Browse children’s books, share a reading stop and see the John Maclean stained-glass window in this Shawbridge Street library.

Make something together after school

For children aged four to twelve, Glasgow Life lists arts and crafts at Pollokshaws Library on Tuesdays 3.30–4.30pm. The sessions are described as a free, interactive activity for parents and children to get creative together, using imagination and making skills. No ticket is required.

This is a parent-and-child plan, not a childcare booking. Keep a carer involved and check the branch’s current arrangements if you are coming especially for the session. The Tuesday library opening runs until 8pm, but the craft activity itself has its own one-hour slot.

A craft session and a quieter browse for books can make a simple combination without needing to add a second destination. If siblings are at different stages, use the stated craft age range and Bookbug’s under-five guidance rather than assuming every group suits every child.

Give builders their own library afternoon

LEGO Fun is aimed at ages five to eleven. The owner describes a collection of LEGO sets and an opportunity for children to use their imagination and build structures. Pollokshaws Library is listed on Saturdays from 2–4pm, separately from the morning Bookbug programme.

The programme is free, with no booking needed: drop in during the session time. The branch closes at 5pm on Saturdays, so do not read its longer opening day as the LEGO activity’s hours. Ask about the actual next meeting and holiday changes before making a special journey.

The library photograph shows its children’s area, book shelving, a colourful rug and tables. It is a view of the venue with visitors in the background, not a photograph of a LEGO session or a promise of a particular setup on your visit. Keep activity expectations tied to the organiser’s programme details.

  • LEGO Fun at Pollokshaws Library

    Build imaginative structures with the library’s collection of LEGO sets.

  • Pollokshaws Library

    Browse children’s books, share a reading stop and see the John Maclean stained-glass window in this Shawbridge Street library.

Plan a Burgh Hall performance as a separate outing

Pollokshaws Burgh Hall at 2025 Pollokshaws Road has been a community venue since 1897 and is home to a Wurlitzer organ. It hosts advertised concerts, screenings and other events. Choose a particular occasion and ticket rather than arriving for an unrestricted tour: viewings for prospective hirers are by appointment.

The reviewed later-season programme includes Christmas with the Wurlitzer on 4 December 2026, 7.30–9.30pm, a Modern Times screening with live accompaniment on 12 February 2027, 7.30–9.30pm, and Scott Harrison in concert on 25 April 2027, 2.30–4.30pm. These are later dates, not activities in the late-October reporting fortnight. Consider the film or concert’s subject and length for your own children; an all-ages listing is not a toddler-session recommendation.

The hall advertises £12 general admission or £10 concession at the door, cash only, or online booking. The retained Eventbrite aggregate range is £11.55–£13.70 including its fees; check the applicable ticket category and any concession conditions. No free-child admission is claimed. Eventbrite lists refunds up to seven days before these events. Doors are half an hour before the advertised starts.

Visitor parking at the hall requires entering your registration on a foyer or corridor tablet. Parking is not unconditionally free for everyone using the car park. Pollokshaws West station is nearby. The Community Hub and Garden at 132 Shawbridge Street is another local venue for organised family activities, with its own booking arrangements; do not assume its building or garden is open for unrestricted drop-in play. Pollok Country Park across the road is a separate destination, not a reason to relabel every park event as Pollokshaws.

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