On a normal day at Liverpool's museums and galleries, the sounds of chatter and laughter fills the air.
But since the UK went into lockdown on March 23, the much loved attractions have had to close their doors to the public to stop the spread of coronavirus.
From the Museum of Liverpool and the Walker Art Gallery, to the Maritime Museum and the Lady Lever Art Gallery, the exhibition spaces and galleries currently lie empty and eerily quiet.
In normal times, the attractions would have hundreds if not thousands of visitors per day, with over 3 million people visiting them last year alone.
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Thankfully they are being well looked after, by a team of curators, estate managers and 24 hour security teams.
These images, taken by those staff members who have spent the last 10 weeks checking in on the buildings, artwork and galleries, capture the stillness that has descended there.
From the Ancient Egypt exhibition at the World Museum to stunning sculptures at the Walker Art Gallery, these spaces which are usually packed out with visitors, sadly stand empty.
One person who has first hand experience of visiting the empty galleries during this time is Sandra Penketh, Executive Director of Art Galleries and Collection Care.
Sandra told the ECHO: "When you come in it is very surreal.
"We are used to walking around the displays first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening when we don't have any visitors and that's amazing in these big spaces with nobody there.
"But to be there in the middle of the day when you're normally open and are full of visitors, it's quite sad actually.
"We've been going in regularly while we have been closed to check on the collections.
"Going in and seeing these world famous paintings, it's like returning to see old friends."
Carrying out checks at the museums and galleries, which are home to some of the most significant collections in the UK and others which are renowned across the world, is a huge responsibility.
Sandra said: "It's a big team effort.
"We look at the condition of the items and whether anything has changed including the environment it's in.
"We also look at changes in lighting and temperature which can all badly affect the collections."
Sandra added: "We've been lucky on the whole, there has only been a few minor things so far.
"For example there had been a small leak in one of the store areas but nothing had been damaged. If we hadn't have been going in to check regularly that water would have built up."
From curators to estate managers and security teams the galleries and museums are in safe hands and are looking forward to welcoming visitors back when the time comes.
Sandra said: "We are doing a lot of planning at the moment and looking at how it will work when we can reopen.
"In some countries they have started to reopen, so we can have conversations with them about how it's working for them and the things they have been putting in place to make sure it is safe.
"We want to make sure they are just as enjoyable as they can be.
"There are some things which we will have to do differently or not do for a little while but we are making sure that when we can reopen, there is a wonderful offering for our visitors and that everything is safe and secure."
