National Gallery and Kelvingrove museums reopen

Some of Scotland's biggest museums have opened their doors to the public for the first time since lockdown.

Visitors can now book online for the National Gallery in Edinburgh and the Kelvingrove museum in Glasgow.

Online booking is part of a range of hygiene measures which include one-way systems and reduced visitor numbers.

A £4m recovery fund for independent museums and galleries has also been announced amid warnings of financial uncertainty for Scotland's museums.

Glasgow Life, which manages the city's biggest museums, prioritised the opening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum but said a return to pre-lockdown service was unlikely.

Visitors can book up to two weeks in advance

Kelvingrove is used to welcoming thousands of daily visitors, but numbers are now restricted to just 250 people per day.

David McDonald, chairman of Glasgow Life, said: "The pandemic has hit us as an organisation pretty hard"

He confirmed that tickets were free but the booking system would ask visitors to make a charitable donation.

A similar system will be in operation for the National Gallery in Edinburgh, which is also asking visitors to book online.

What will a trip to the museum look like?

One-way systems and reduced numbers will be the most noticeable difference to visitors

• Visitors can book a free ticket online which will grant access to the National Gallery for one hour and the Kelvingrove museum for two hours

• Face masks will be required and some smaller spaces will be closed off to allow for social distancing

• Maps will not be issued and visitors are instead encouraged to download a digital map of the building on their phone

• One-way systems will guide people around the museum

Financial uncertainty

Museums Galleries Scotland, the umbrella body for more than 400 sites across Scotland, announced a £4m recovery and resilience fund for independent museums.

Less than a quarter of museums and galleries have reopened since the relaxation of restrictions in mid-July, and smaller organisations will find reopening more difficult than larger museums.

Lucy Casot, chief executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, said the sector had faced "continuous financial uncertainty during the pandemic."

She added: "Now our museums and galleries need the support of this fund to weather the next period of financial uncertainty and continue their key work in communities."

Glasgow Life has lost more than £10m of income since March and is forecasting losses of up to £38m for the financial year, with many of its staff on furlough or shielding.

Before the pandemic hit, Glasgow's museums welcomed a record number of visitors, attracting more than 19 million people in 2018.

In the same year the National Gallery in Edinburgh was among the most popular tourist attractions in Scotland, welcoming more than two million visitors.