The List of Routes issued to knowledge students by the PCO is more commonly know as “Blue Book Runs”. The routes are simply a list of journeys ie:

There are 320 runs in total and they are the foundation for the knowledge of London. You must be aware that the list of Blue Book routes is just a guide. For this reason knowing the right way to learn your Blue Book Runs is very important.

An Examiner will NOT usually ask you runs as they are outlined within the book, but runs which NEARLY CORRESPOND to those routes. For example he will not ask you to take him from Manor House Station to Gibson Square (List 1 No. 1) because you could have memorised the route from a computer, map or printed route without ever having undertaken the journey. Instead you could be asked John Scott Health Centre (near Manor House Station) to Almedia Theatre (near Gibson Square). Your ability to answer will establish that you have completed the journey and, more importantly, that you have familiarised yourself with the area around the destination and departure point.

The 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. You must be aware of the importance of alternative points because if you do not know the starting point or the finishing point selected by the examiner, then you cannot answer, even though you may know the basic route.

Failure to achieve this will mean that you will have to cover all the same ground again to collect points you could have seen first time. Once you have learned the value of knowing points at the start and end of each route, what about points along the route? Do not try to learn these at the same time; it is too much to absorb all at once and will only lead to confusion. These points take care of themselves at a later date. Let me show you how. If we now add other runs that you will encounter later in the Blue Book to Diagram 1 you will see how you learn points naturally between the beginning and end of the journey from manor House Station to Gibson Square, thus, acting as revision for parts of a previous route. Gradually you will see how the quarter mile radius falls into place like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (Diagram 2), constantly building your topographical “Knowledge”.

Remember the important thing is to get a mental picture of the map in your head, so that when you do call-over practice or attempt to answer the examiner’s questions you should have a visual image in your mind’s eye of the route and the points at the beginning and end.

It is easy to be tempted into racing through the “Blue Book”, doing as many runs as possible, but in the long term you will get through the knowledge quicker if you concentrate on the quality of your learning rather than the quantity.

“Calling-over” (revising runs by repeatedly reciting them) is very important, as it is the only way possible to see how well you are remembering the journeys you have already made. When you call basic “Blue Book” almost anybody can assist you and you should do this as often you can, but what you should be doing is moving toward calling alternative point to alternative point as soon as possible.