Blue Book Runs are the basic training aid that sets out the foundation for learning the Knowledge of London. The List of Routes issued to you by TfL are no more than a simple list of journeys from one point to another ie:
Manor House Station, N4
to
Gibson Square, N1
Thornhill Square, N1
to
Queen Square, WC1
Chancery Lane Station,WC1
to
Rolls Road, SE1 etc, etc.
There are 320 runs in total, each run comprises a beginning and end point. Understanding how Points relate to the Blue Book Runs is the basic foundation for learning the Knowledge. You need to be aware the list of runs given to you by TfL are only a guide to what you will need to learn. For this reason, knowing the right way to go about learning your Blue Book Runs is very important.
Taxi Trade Promotions have produced its own training material including Blue Book Runs that have been specifically designed and formulated to the standard required by TfL. We have worked out all the runs for you and listed 8 alternative points at the beginning and end of each run as well as mini maps to help you through the learning process. We also produce Pointing Map Books which compliments the Blue Book Runs perfectly especially for working on the 1/4 mile areas at the beginning and end of the runs.
NB You will not acquire a sufficient Knowledge simply by either using a computer or a map, you will only gain the necessary Knowledge by actually travelling the 1/4 mile radius areas and runs.
Understanding the Dumb-Bell effect
An examiner may want to go from any of the points in Circle A to any of the points in Circle B (Diagram 1). The route between the circles always remains basically the same. However you need to know how to get from any of the points in the circle to the start of the run, if you do not know the starting point or the finishing point then you cannot answer the run itself.
Unless you cover the alternative points whilst you are in the area you will have to go back over the same ground again later to collect these points. You do not need to worry about finding points on the actual run, as these points take care of themselves at a later date. You only need to find points within a 1/4 mile radius of each of the blue book points. This is more commonly know as the Dumb-Bell, see Diagram 1.
As you go through the runs learning each run with alternative points at the beginning and end, after a while you will see the 1/4 mile radius areas start to overlap one another. They will become like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (Diagram 2). Gradually you will find you are building a mental picture of a map of London in your head and creating a visual image of the runs and the points at the beginning and end of each run.
It is easy to be tempted into racing through the “Blue Book”, doing as many runs as possible. However in the long term you will get through the knowledge quicker if you concentrate on the quality of your learning rather than the quantity.
Remember it is not a race. There is no logic to learning 10 or 20 runs with each of the 1/4 mile radius areas if at the end of the day you can only remember half of what you have learnt. Everyone is different you should learn the Knowledge at your own pace, the pace that suits you as an individual.
There is no point learning anything unless you can remember it. So going over what you have learnt and keeping it fresh in your mind is very important, this is known as "Calling-over".
