A few weeks ago we shed a much-needed light on Britain's at risk native dog breeds. And now, we're going full spaniel.
'Hola Muchachos' by Melody Fisher.
Over the past year, photographer Melody Fisher has been travelling the UK taking photographs of ‘vulnerable’ spaniel breeds with declining registration numbers, such as clumber, field, Sussex, Welsh springer and Spanish water spaniels. Her exhibition Minority Spaniels opened last week at The Kennel Club Art Gallery, 10, Clarges Street in Mayfair, showcasing the dogs’ skills both in the field and in the show ring.
Also pictured is the curly-coated Lagotto Romagnolo (above), searches for which surged by 723% within three days after the King was given a Lagotto puppy, named Snuff, in February. ‘With numbers in decline, I hope this exhibition highlights their remarkable attributes and encourages more people to discover these wonderful breeds,’ says Fisher. ‘One of my favourite photos from the Minority Spaniels capsule exhibition is the Two Clumbers Charging Through The Lavender — it has a sense of play and light-heartedness, yet captures beautifully the colours and composition of the dogs in the purple colours,’ comments Heidi Hudson, the KC’s curator of photographic collections.
Minority Spaniels runs to June 27 and the KC Art Gallery is open by appointment only; email art.gallery@thekennelclub.org.uk or telephone 020–7518 1064.
-
Child stars, Prince and nursery rhymes: It's the Country Life Quiz of the Day, December 5, 2025It's all in today's quiz.
-
‘Calf’s brains have a bland, gentle richness that soothes and cossets': Tom Parker Bowles on the joys of eating offalEating offal it is more sinned against than sinning, but it offers the ultimate in magnificent, fully immersive eating.
-
What on earth is the person who comes up with Annabel's otherworldly facade displays on? London's most magical Christmas shop displaysPhotographs by Greg Funnell.
-
Farmers of Britain, go forth and grow prawnsA new study has proposed that farmers could start growing king prawns to diversify income streams.
-
The golden retriever: The world’s most likeable dog almost didn’t exist at allThey’ve been popping up everywhere this week — on the Tube, at Christmas parties and in the news — so it feels like the perfect moment to talk about the dog breed we’re lucky to have.
-
In search of London’s earliest pintEarly houses — pubs open in the early hours to feed and water the market trade — have been a cornerstone of London for centuries. Yet, as Will Hosie finds, they aren’t stuck in the past.
-
Aristotle believed they emerged spontaneously from mud, Sigmund Freud dissected thousands of them and they can dive lower than a nuclear submarine — but what is the truth about the eel?It would seem the European eel has a long way to go to win hearts, Laura Parker says of the slippery animal with an unfortunate image problem.
-
The Alpine rescue dog built for blizzards, bred by monksAs snow fell across the UK this week, I found myself day-dreaming of St Bernards striding through the Alps — a snow-day dog worth celebrating.
-
Better than Ozempic? 50 years of the Brompton bicycleOwen Wilson, James May and most of the middle-aged men and condescending hipsters you know love them. As the iconic folding bike turns 50 Lotte Brundle hops on one with the company's CEO.
-
No more froths, no more foams, no more tweezers. Classic dining is making a comeback. Thank godFrom prawn cocktail and Arctic roll to starched tablecloths and ‘nicotine cream’ on the walls, it’s out with the new and in with the old in the restaurant world
