Nine Mile Burn in Scotland has a Check Local Score of 64/100 (good), drawn from official data on safety, schools, transport, housing, amenities and the local environment, each measured against the national average — a score of 60 is typical for the country.
Nine Mile Burn sits out where the Pentland Hills do the talking — a scatter of houses and farm buildings along the A702, more sheep than street lighting, and nothing that could be called a high street at all. This is the kind of place people move to precisely because it isn't a town.
There's essentially nobody here — the population figure for this hamlet rounds to a single household's worth of people, and the density confirms it: somewhere around 15 people per square kilometre against a Scotland-wide average pushing 2,000. That single fact tells you almost everything about daily life. Median age sits close to 51, well above the national figure of around 43, which is the quiet signature of a place settled by people well past the school-run years rather than a place attracting them. If you're weighing this up with young children in mind, you're looking at a long drive for a run of ordinary things.
The numbers that do exist paint a place with money and space but no infrastructure to speak of. Nine Mile Burn sits in the top income decile and decile 8 for deprivation, meaning this is among the more comfortable corners of Scotland by most conventional measures, and the median house price of around £281,000 reads as accessible precisely because you're paying for land and quiet, not proximity to anything. Full fibre reaches over 90% of premises here, which is a genuine surprise for somewhere this remote and worth noting if working from home is part of the plan — connectivity won't be the thing that lets you down.
The grade pattern is where the honest picture emerges. Environment scores at the very top of the scale, unsurprising given the hills on the doorstep, and safety and connectivity both come in comfortably above the Scottish average. Housing, though, sits lower, at C+ — a hint that what's on the market is limited in choice and condition rather than abundant, which tracks with a hamlet where turnover is naturally slow and stock doesn't refresh often. Health services score respectably but not exceptionally, which for a place this sparsely populated likely means access rather than quality is the constraint — you'll be travelling for most appointments, not walking to them. Council tax band D costs more here than the Scottish median, a small but real running cost worth folding into the sums.
This suits someone who wants the hills more than the neighbours — an older buyer, a remote worker with a good broadband requirement and no need for a commute, someone who has already decided that quiet is the point rather than a compromise. It won't suit anyone who wants a shop to walk to, a school gate to chat at, or the reassurance of services close by. The regret risk here isn't the place itself — it's arriving expecting village life and finding there's no village, just the burn, the hills, and your own front door.
Data last updated: 15 August 2026
Pick another area to line them up side by side — the verdict, both Check Local Scores, and what actually separates them.