Lark Rise to Candleford

A handsome young journalist, Daniel Parish, arrives in Lark Rise with exciting news for the Timmins family: Emma is set to inherit a fortune, enough to move the family to a big house in Candleford. Will the Timmins turn their backs on Lark Rise forever?

Daniel plans to write their rags to riches story for his newspaper, but Dorcas is suspicious of his motives, and when the article is published, it sends shockwaves through the community. Can the growing attachment between Laura and Daniel survive the crisis?

The Bishop is coming to consecrate the church font and Thomas cannot contain his excitement. But when a Lark Rise tree starts to 'bleed', the hamlet becomes rife with talk of witchcraft. Thomas is horrified - this could ruin the Bishop's visit!

The 'witch tree' seems to cast a spell over the whole community - everyone is behaving strangely. Even Dorcas loses her composure and makes a blunder with terrible consequences for Pearl and Ruby. Laura, too, is thrown off balance when Daniel returns to try and win back her affections - but first he has to get around an angry Robert and Emma.

Thomas is determined to restore order. But how will he undo the tree's awful curse?

Alf throws a party to celebrate moving into a cottage of his own. He entertains his guests with a new song, and its haunting words have a profound effect on all of them.

Edmund rebels against his parents; Thomas and Margaret have their first marital tiff; and Dorcas's plans to prepare Minnie for marriage and motherhood backfire terribly.

How will harmony be restored? And what are the contents of the strange and wonderful parcel that arrives at the post office, which Minnie wants to keep a secret?

It's harvest time - the most important time of the year in Lark Rise, when everyone helps to bring in the wheat that will feed them through winter. So when an epidemic hits it couldn't come at a worse time - with so many sick, how will they gather the wheat and prevent a winter of starvation? Help comes from an unlikely source, but just when it looks as though their problems are solved, they discover the worst is yet to come.

Everyone is talking about the mysterious recluse, Mr Reppington, who's been hiding at the Golden Lion Hotel for months. Why is he here, and why is he handing out money to local widows?

Dorcas is fascinated by his lonely existence and is determined to entice him back into the world. Can she succeed, and will she discover his true identity and the dark secret which has brought him to Candleford?

Daniel has opened a newspaper in Candleford and is on the look out for a big story. So when old Peg Leg, a Crimean war veteran, arrives for his annual visit to the Timmins', and Daniel learns he has received no war pension, he starts a newspaper campaign against this injustice.

But just as Peg Leg's plight looks set to become a national cause celebre, Emma learns that he is not all he seems, a discovery that threatens to break hearts and destroy Daniel's new venture.

The locals are rehearsing for their annual production of St George and the Dragon when they hear rumours that Sir Timothy has returned. They are thrilled at the prospect of performing it for the squire himself, but with the play fast approaching and no sign of Sir Timothy, Dorcas decides to pay him a visit. She finds only Lady Adelaide. As the two women come face to face they are forced to confront their shared history, learning more about each other than they could have imagined.

Pearl is in a state of panic. She has received a dressmaking commission which could save her ailing business, but without Ruby, there is no way she can do the work in time. So when Enid, a talented seamstress, arrives in Candleford looking for a job, it seems Pearl's prayers have been answered.

Pearl and Enid form an instant bond, based on mutual admiration and respect. But when Pearl discovers the seamstress is not who says she is, she is forced to choose between their friendship and her deepest prejudices.

When the Lark Rise school loses its teacher, Emma steps in and discovers a talent she never knew she had. But Margaret also covets the role of schoolteacher, and the two women become rivals for the job.

Over in Candleford, Thomas and Dorcas are at odds. The postman is agitating for better working conditions, and Dorcas isn't taking it well. But when they each learn of the deeper reasons behind their stubbornness, will they be able to put their own needs aside for the sake of their community?

When the local Lark Rise gossip Mrs Mullins discovers her daughter Emily is pregnant, she leaps to the conclusion that Daniel is the father. Everyone, including Laura, rallies round to defend him. But when Daniel's behaviour starts to arouse suspicion, and people begin to doubt him, Dorcas is determined to uncover the truth. Can Laura and Daniel's relationship survive the crisis?

Mischief Night is approaching and the folks of Lark Rise and Candleford are excitedly planning tricks to play on their neighbours. But Laura is in no mood for silly pranks - Fisher Bloom has returned, intent on winning her back, and it has thrown her feelings for Daniel into turmoil.

Pearl and Edmund are determined to protect Daniel and Laura from heartbreak, but will their mischievous tricks to make Fisher leave succeed, and how will Daniel respond to a rival for Laura's affections?

When the postmaster at Inglestone, with an old score to settle, tries to force Dorcas into selling up, she is faced with the heartbreaking prospect of losing her home and denying Sydney his dream of running the post office one day. But can Dorcas, with the help and determination of her staff and her friends, find a way to save the post office and their jobs? And with Laura torn between the love of two men, Daniel and Fisher, who will she choose?