Western National to First Kernow Serving Cornwall for 97 Years

Saturday 14 February 2026 marked the end of First Kernow’s operations in Cornwall, being a direct descendant of Western National. After 97 years serving Cornwall the end had finally arrived. This book charts the ups and downs, of which there were many, of Western National over the years and concentrates on more recent times and especially the last few weeks. The last day did not pass without a whimper reflecting the great respect and admiration for the company. There were special destination blinds, cab door messages, well wishes from neighbouring companies and a historic vehicle cavalcade duplicating many of the last journeys. With Western National itself passing into history so too did the historic turning points at Mousehole Harbour and Fowey Safe Harbour Hotel. It is not the end of bus routes in Cornwall with Go-Ahead owned Plymouth Citybus, trading as Go Cornwall Bus, in the county running the former Western National routes in addition to its own contracted network for Transport for Cornwall.