First Baby in 34 Years Born on Remote Scottish Island

On a windswept speck of land north of mainland Scotland, a baby has arrived who is something of a local milestone. Duncan Wilder Thorstein Traill Suarez Ford was born September 15 on North Ronaldsay, the tiny Orkney island where no births had taken place in 34 years, his mother, Alice Traill Ford, tells CNN. Traill Ford and her fiancé, Jorge Suarez, usually split their time between Costa Rica and North Ronaldsay and had planned to deliver in Costa Rica. But once back on the island her family has owned since 1727, she decided to give birth at her ancestral Holland House despite the island's lack of a hospital or even a resident doctor.

Traill Ford tells the Orcadian that they contacted the National Health Service, "and they were incredibly supportive of our wants for having the baby on the island." North Ronaldsay is the northernmost island of the Orkneys. The nearest hospital is in Kirkwall, 2 hours and 40 minutes away by boat, or, in emergency cases, a 20-minute helicopter flight. Duncan, the couple's fourth child, was named after Traill Ford's grandfather, the former Laird of North Ronaldsay, the Times of London reports.

• The couple followed tradition by raising a flag at Holland House to mark the baby's arrival. They gave islanders bottles of whisky decorated with four-leaf clovers they had collected over the years and local seashells, known as Groatie Buckies, believed to bring good fortune. "We stuck a four-leaf clover to a glass bottle, glued a Groatie Buckie to the lid then filled it with whisky and gave it to each of the islanders," Traill Ford tells the BBC. "We raised the flag and everybody opened their whisky and shared a dram—a celebratory drink—together."

Traill Ford says the island's current population is 51. The family will return to Costa Rica, where they run a school, in November, but Traill Ford says they will continue to visit the island every summer, as she has done since she was a baby. "Duncan will absolutely be back every year," she says. "One of the things I want to give my children is the gift my mother gave us, bringing us to this island every summer, letting us run wild, explore the island, and feel the connection to the community."