Scottish island welcomes its first baby in 34 years

For the first time in 34 years, a baby was born on the Scottish island of North Ronaldsay. Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Ford arrived at 4.05am on September 15 in his ancestral family home. His birth was celebrated with a flag raised outside Holland House and islanders toasting the newborn. North Ronaldsay, the most northern of Scotland’s Orkney Islands, has a population of 72 according to Scottish government figures, though Duncan’s mother Alice Traill Ford claims only 51 people live there.

The island has no hospital or resident doctor, only a resident nurse, making giving birth there a planned event. Midwives reached the island by helicopter, as there is no resident doctor. The family initially planned for the birth in Costa Rica, but Traill Ford felt drawn to North Ronaldsay, where she spent summers as a child. The delivery went well at Holland House, the historic home of the Traill family who have owned North Ronaldsay since 1727.

Duncan was named after his mother’s grandfather, another Duncan and former Laird of North Ronaldsay. The family plans to return to Costa Rica in November, but Traill Ford intends to bring Duncan back to the island annually, just as her mother did during her childhood.