Lark Rise to Candleford
Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 10/10CozyGentle, low-stakes comfort you can safely relax into.This show: 9/10Small townA tight community where everyone knows everyone.This show: 9/10NostalgicTrades on longing for a past era, in the story or around it.This show: 9/10British TVThe British television sensibility: tone, restraint and format traditions.This show: 9/10Comfort rewatchThe kind of show people return to endlessly.This show: 8/10Feel-goodReliably uplifting television that leaves you lighter than it found you.This show: 8/10WholesomeKindness and decency at the core, with barely a trace of cynicism.This show: 8/10
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Starring
Olivia HallinanSarah LancashireJulia SawalhaFergus DrysdaleMartha MurdochClaudie Blakley
Written by
Bill Gallagher
Starring
Olivia HallinanSarah LancashireJulia SawalhaFergus DrysdaleMartha MurdochClaudie Blakley
Written by
Bill Gallagher
Ratings per Episode
Votes per Episode
Lark Rise to Candleford Episode Ratings Heatmap
| Avg | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.6 | |||
| S2 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.2 | |
| S3 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.6 | |
| S4 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.6 |
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About
"Cosy village life, beautifully unhurried and warm"
Based on Flora Thompson's memoirs, this gentle BBC period drama follows young Laura as she moves from the poor hamlet of Lark Rise to work at the post office in the more prosperous market town of Candleford. Set in Victorian rural England, it's an ensemble piece built around seasonal rhythms, village gossip, courtships and small hardships rather than big plot twists. The pace is unhurried and comforting, closer to a warm Sunday-evening hug than a gripping drama, carried by its community of characters and lovely countryside settings.
Watch it for
the richly drawn village community and gentle, old-fashioned charm of Victorian rural life.
Maybe skip if
you need strong plot momentum rather than slow, character-driven, episodic storytelling.
Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.
All Seasons
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Season 12008
8.02K108h 50m
Season 1 follows the relationship of two contrasting communities: Lark Rise, the small hamlet gently holding on to the past, and Candleford, the small market town bustling into the future. Seen through the eyes of young Laura, their inhabitants endure many upheavals and struggles as the inexorably change comes; their stories by turns poignant, spirited and uplifting.
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Season 22008
8.12K1211h 8m
Season 2 sees the arrival of a dashing and elegant stranger in Candleford. Rich, enterprising, worldly and without a wife, James Dowling is a successful businessman with a string of London hotels, and has come to transform Candleford and bring it new prosperity. But not everyone welcomes his entrepreneurial qualities and it isn't long before he is sparring with the spirited, yet suddenly unusually flustered, Dorcas and aggravating the pride of the male Lark Risers with his superior business acumen and somewhat overbearing manner.
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Season 32010
8.12K1210h 44m
In season 3, a journalist named Daniel arrives to deliver the news that Emma has been left some money. There's a substantial sum to be claimed if Emma can prove her right to the money and there's a rags to riches story in it for Daniel's newspaper. As Robert and Emma contemplate their change in fortunes, Laura, who is fascinated to meet a real writer, shows Daniel around Lark Rise. Elsewhere, the Pratt sisters are keeping secrets from one another; Margaret confides in Dorcas that she and Thomas are trying for a baby, and Minnie - in her attempt to live by Dorcas's advice of always telling the truth - ends up offending almost everyone who comes to the post office.
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Season 42011
8.177965h
Set at the end of the 19th century, season 4 sees newcomer Gabriel Cochrane arrive in Candleford with a vendetta against the evil banker Steerforth, who he feels has tricked him into losing his business. Elsewhere, Dorcas makes an ill-judged intervention, Minnie becomes worried that Alfie might fall out of love with her and Emma is left in a precarious financial position.
Full Cast & Crew
Cast
Olivia Hallinan Laura Timmins
Sarah Lancashire Adult Laura
Julia Sawalha Dorcas Lane
Fergus Drysdale Frank Timmins
Martha Murdoch Ethel Timmins
Claudie Blakley Emma Timmins
John Dagleish Alf Arless
Thomas Rhys Jones Edmund Timmins
Mark Heap Thomas Brown
Karl Johnson Twister Turrill
Crew
Bill Gallagher
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