The parish covers around six square miles of attractive countryside within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and includes a wide range of natural habitats. The land rises from south to north, reaching 500 feet at the northern boundary of the Parish. Part of the village is designated as a Conservation Area, which is divided into two parts: one centred on the High Street and one centred on St Peter’s Church. There has always been a vibrant and caring community feeling and the settlement still retains its rich local heritage and the spirit and character of a real village.

The mean age in the parish in 2001 was 35, surprisingly significantly lower than that in England as a whole (39). This suggests that Ardingly is a popular place for families to live, perhaps due to excellent local schools, an unusually good range of local employment and within reach of other employment, such as at Gatwick, Brighton and London.

20% of households in the parish comprise just one person, meaning that about 130 people live alone.

While only around 18% of the population of the parish is aged 60 or over, more than 50% of those who responded to the household questionnaire had a member of the household in that age range. In respect of people’s views on many issues affecting the village, their age did not seem to make a difference. However on a few topics, some interesting differences emerged which are explained later in this document.