A remote Scottish island has welcomed a new resident and he has made local history.
Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Suarez Ford was born on September 15 on North Ronaldsay, becoming the first baby born there in 34 years.
The tiny Orkney island is just three miles long and two miles wide and is home to about 51 people.
His mother, Alice Traill Ford, had originally planned to give birth in Costa Rica, where the family also lives.
But after arriving on the island, she changed her mind.
“I knew instantly that it would be the most special, magical and supportive birth that I could give him,” she said.
Healthcare Challenges
The baby was born at Holland House, a property built by Traill Ford’s ancestors.
She said her family has owned the island since 1727 and that she has returned every year since childhood.
The arrival has delighted the small community. Traill Ford described the islanders as feeling like “a giant family”.
He handed out tiny bottles of whisky decorated with shells and four-leaf clovers.
But why had no baby been born there for so long? Healthcare may be the answer.
North Ronaldsay has no hospital or doctor, only a resident nurse, while reaching mainland Orkney by boat takes about two hours and 40 minutes.
For a community this small, one newborn is more than a birth it is a little sign that the island still has a future.
