LIVERPOOL’S museums have notched up another bumper year, after welcoming 2.2m visitors through their doors.

The eight venues that make up National Museums Liverpool (NML) recorded a 14% rise in admissions in 2009, compared to their last “normal” year, 2007.

They were down on 2008, which registered a record- breaking 2,736,701 visitors, their highest ever, off the back of the Capital of Culture celebrations.

New figures released by The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), say 2,282,562 people visited NML, compared to 2,010,666 in 2007.

Merseyside Maritime Museum is now the second most popular museum in the UK outside of London, receiving more visitors than the Imperial War Museum in London and the National Railway Museum in York.

David Fleming, director National Museums Liverpool, said: “We knew we were never going to get as many people through the door in 2009 as we did in 2008, Capital of Culture Year, which saw unprecedented attention and increased visits from outside the region.

“But the 2009 figures are a big rise on 2007 and the trend is upwards.

“We hope to capitalise on this enthusiasm when we open the new Museum of Liverpool, in spring, 2011.”