Book Review: Western National to First Kernow

Sunday 21st June 2026

It’s another splendid book from Keith Shayshutt about buses in his beloved Cornwall. This one is highly topical charting the ups and downs, of which there were many, of Western National and First Kernow but in particular concentrates on recent times, especially the last 18 months leading up to First Kernow’s final day of operation on Saturday 14th February 2026.

It’s an insightful account across nine chapters over 60 pages in which Keith sets the scene for that final demise. Keith begins with a brief historic scene setting starting with the nationalised Western National in the 1970s, followed by privatisation and the sale to Badgerline in the 1980s, then through the early First Bus years and the emergence of Truronian and Western Greyhound as competitors in the 1990s and 2000s, to the sudden demise of the latter and the consequential revitalisation of First Bus in the 2010s.

There’s an eye catching series of 15 colour coded network maps across eight pages charting the growth and demise of all the main players in the county’s bus provision between 2000 and 2015.

The book is worth buying just for this historic insight alone into how bus provision changed over a relatively short period of time.

Then of course there’s the more recent story of Go-Ahead’s expansion with Go Cornwall securing Cornwall Council’s complete tender package in 2020 before First Kernow’s double blow of also losing lucrative college contracts not only in Bodmin (to Stagecoach) but in Truro (to Go Cornwall).

A new policy of central control for all First Bus’s marketing function together with removing commercial decision making by locally based managers, which until then had seen innovative expansion of the commercial network including significant developments in open-top services and eye catching branding and liveries, simply served to hasten the end.

It wouldn’t be a Keith Shayshutt publication without a chapter devoted to detailed operational information and sure enough copies of all the working timetables at the time of First Kernow’s demise are included over nine pages as well as even the run-out on that final day showing which bus operated which vehicle working.

There’s also a list showing where each bus was transferred to in the First Bus empire for its post Kernow life in what was a major logistical challenge over that final weekend.

With Western National/First Kernow passing into history so too did the historic termini at Mousehole and Fowey Safe Harbour Hotel and both are recorded in the book with appropriate photographs for posterity.

Indeed there are 50 splendid photographs throughout the book which, together with images of various contemporary liveries and branding used since privatisation, act as a great record of the ups and downs of Western National over the years, as well as, in particular, the company’s last few weeks “as it faced that final curtain”.

At £19.50 the book is a great addition to the bookshelf of those with an interest in the UK public transport scene and can be obtained by either emailing Keith on keith.shayshutt1@gmail.com adding £2.80 for postage (ie £22.30) or through MDS Books (Stock Code: KS789.0) or eBay.

It’s a good buy about a sad goodbye.

After 97 years Western National – latterly First Kernow – is no more, but it will live on in all the memories provoked and provided by Keith’s excellent book.

Roger French

Summer blogging timetable: 06:00 TThSSu with more route 99 reviews coming on forthcoming Sundays.