Glasgow's largest park, the old Maxwell estate on the south side, with Pollok House of 1752, its box garden, the Burrell Collection and a fold of Highland cattle.
On Glasgow's south side, Pollok Country Park is the largest park in the city and its only country park: woods, riverside walks, walled gardens and open fields that were once the Old Pollok Estate, the ancestral home of the Maxwell family.
Visited and photographed by Simon Hird
The Burrell Collection stands in its grounds.
At its heart is Pollok House, built in 1752 and extended between 1890 and 1904, with a formal garden of clipped box below it and an old bridge over the river. Sir John Stirling Maxwell lived here into the twentieth century, and the conversation that led to the founding of the National Trust for Scotland is said to have taken place in its Cedar Room in the early 1930s. His daughter gave the house and its collections to the city in 1966.
In the fields along Pollok Avenue graze the Pollok Fold of Highland cattle, brought down from the Highlands by the Maxwells nearly two hundred years ago.
The park is open at all times.
Pollok House, its shop and tearoom are closed for a major refurbishment, and since June 2025 the paths and gardens around the house have been shut for works until further notice, with other routes round the park open. The Burrell Collection has a restaurant, and its toilets are open; those in the Old Stable Courtyard are shut while it is refurbished. National Cycle Routes 7 and 75 run through the park, with bike hire outside the Burrell.
Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.
Add your review
Sir John Stirling Maxwell, one of the founders of the National Trust for Scotland, lived at Pollok House, and the conversation that led to the Trust being set up is said to have taken place in its Cedar Room in the early 1930s.
Sir John's daughter, Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald, gave Pollok House and its collections to the city in 1966, and the house and park are owned by the people of Glasgow.
The Maxwells brought the Pollok Fold of Highland cattle down from the Highlands nearly two hundred years ago to graze the heavy clay here. The fold keeps around thirty breeding cows and three bulls, and they live outside all year in the fields along Pollok Avenue.
Pollok House went up in 1752, near the site of earlier houses going back to medieval times, and was extended between 1890 and 1904.
Everything grown in the park's vegetable garden, raised from seed in its glasshouses and fed with manure from its own cattle, goes to local charities and foodbanks on the south side.
Previously named Britain’s Best Park – and on one occasion even the Best Park in Europe – this 146-hectare spread of land draws everyone from mountain bikers (there are three different biking circuits) to art-lovers (the park is home to elegant Pollok House and its array of Spanish art, as well as the Burrell Collection gallery). With plenty of gardens and walks too, there’s much here to enjoy.
Read more17th century Scotland was a dangerous place, not only due to religious strife and violence but also the hundreds of ruthless witch trials. Lord George Maxwell of Pollok was one of the most dedicated witch hunters on the west coast.
Read the story
New places, news and stories, as we find them.
What is on in GlasgowGlasgow's south side, off Pollokshaws Road.
PartenopeA bakery café on a corner of Hector Road in Shawlands, with focaccia, pastries and coffee, open every day from breakfast to mid-afternoon.Under a mile as the crow flies
The Burrell CollectionA shipowner's collection of art and objects, in its own gallery in the park.1 mile 7 min by road
PollokshieldsOne of Britain's first garden suburbs, ten minutes' walk from the park.2 miles 6 min by road
House for an Art LoverMackintosh's design of 1901, built at last in Bellahouston Park.2 miles 7 min by road
Bellahouston ParkA hundred and sixty-nine acres above Ibrox, which held the Empire Exhibition of 1938.3 miles 8 min by road
Crookston CastleThe only medieval castle left in Glasgow, the Trust's first property.3 miles 8 min by road
Arrives at 5am every day.
A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.
Places to stay near the park, and when each is next free.
Moment Blythswood Street
Crossbasket Castle-large-1764155260.jpg)
Talli HouseWe want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.
What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Glasgow.
For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .
