Near Airdrie test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 8 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 20 navigation steps.
This is an independent 36.4 km practice route near Airdrie test centre, taking roughly 30 min to drive. It is NOT an official DVSA examiner route, the DVSA does not publish those, but it uses the same local roads and junction types an examiner is likely to choose.
Along the way you'll meet Rawyards Roundabout. Knowing the approach, lane and exit at each one before you arrive is the difference between a planned manoeuvre and a last-second reaction, and last-second reactions are where avoidable faults come from.
On this route you’ll practise multiple roundabouts, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads and sustained concentration. Driving it a few times before your test builds the muscle memory that frees up attention for observation and decision-making on the day.
The loop is anchored by 20 catalogued landmarks, including churches, named junctions, shops and pubs, so you can navigate it from recognisable features rather than a memorised turn list. Rehearsing it in this way means that on test day the area already feels familiar, and your attention is free for the traffic rather than the map.
Whatever the route, your practical test follows the same national shape: an eyesight check, a couple of vehicle-safety questions, around forty minutes of general driving, one reversing manoeuvre chosen by the examiner, and roughly twenty minutes of independent driving following signs or a sat-nav. Practising on roads like these is how you make each of those elements feel routine rather than new.
Treat this route as practice, not a script. The value is not in repeating one fixed sequence but in getting comfortable with the road types, speed changes and junction patterns of the area around Airdrie test centre, so that whatever order your examiner chooses on the day, none of it is unfamiliar. Drive it a few times, focus on smooth observation and planning, and it becomes one more stretch of road you already know, which is exactly the kind of preparation that turns nerves into confidence.
If you are practising with a supervising driver rather than an instructor, take it steadily: agree the manoeuvre spots in advance, keep to a comfortable pace, and stop to talk through anything that felt rushed. And remember the basics that apply on every road, mirrors before any change of speed or direction, signals in good time, and a following distance that gives you room to react. Those habits travel with you long after the test is passed.
What you’ll actually do on this loop, counted from its turn-by-turn directions.
This route helps you practise:
Road mix
The full 77-step drive on real, named roads (about 36.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast on Aitchison Street/A8010. Continue on A8010.
A8010411 m
Turn left onto North Bridge Street/B802. Continue on B802.
B8022.1 km
Turn right onto Coatbridge Road/B803. Continue on B803.
B8031.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Stirling Road/A73.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stirling Road/A73.
Stirling Road970 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A73.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto A73.
A7328 m
Turn right to stay on A73.
A7323 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Stirling Road/A73.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stirling Road/A73.
Stirling Road972 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Stirling Road/A73.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stirling Road/A73.
Stirling Road1.9 km
Enter Rawyards Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Motherwell Street/A73.
Rawyards Roundabout61 m
Exit the roundabout onto Motherwell Street/A73. Continue on A73.
A73622 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A73.
53 m
Exit the roundabout onto A73.
A73249 m
Turn right onto Drumbathie Road.
Drumbathie Road304 m
Turn left onto Springwells Avenue.
Springwells Avenue243 m
Turn left onto Clark Street/A89.
Clark Street138 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Motherwell Street/A73.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Motherwell Street/A73.
Motherwell Street242 m
Turn right onto Drumbathie Road.
Drumbathie Road302 m
Turn left onto Drumgelloch Street.
Drumgelloch Street81 m
Turn left onto Kenilworth Drive.
Kenilworth Drive244 m
Turn left onto Motherwell Street/A73.
Motherwell Street337 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Forrest Street/A89.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Forrest Street/A89.
Forrest Street1.0 km
Turn left.
93 m
Turn left.
28 m
Turn right onto Forrest Street/A89.
Forrest Street976 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Clark Street/A89.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto Clark Street/A89. Continue on A89.
A89853 m
Enter Ballies Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Gartlea Road/A89.
Ballies Roundabout7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gartlea Road/A89.
Gartlea Road118 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Gartlea Road.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gartlea Road.
Gartlea Road135 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Gartlea Road.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gartlea Road.
Gartlea Road97 m
Turn right onto Hogg Street.
Hogg Street296 m
Turn right onto Cairnhill Road/B802. Continue on B802.
B802256 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Broomknoll Street/B802.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broomknoll Street/B802. Continue on B802.
B8022.6 km
Turn right onto Coatbridge Road/B803.
Coatbridge Road275 m
Turn left onto Condorrat Road/B802.
Condorrat Road1.3 km
Turn left onto Mollinsburn Road.
Mollinsburn Road698 m
Turn right to stay on Mollinsburn Road.
Mollinsburn Road28 m
Turn left to stay on Mollinsburn Road.
Mollinsburn Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Glenboig New Road.
Glenboig New Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Coatbridge Road/B804. Continue on B804.
B8042.4 km
Enter Coltswood Road and take the 1st exit onto Coltswood Road/B804.
Coltswood Road24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Coltswood Road/B804. Continue on B804.
B8041.2 km
Turn left onto Kildonan Street.
Kildonan Street1.2 km
Turn right onto Southburn Road.
Southburn Road18 m
Turn left onto Railway Road.
Railway Road256 m
Turn left onto Deedes Street/A89. Continue on A89.
A89923 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A89.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto A89.
A89309 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Broomknoll Street/B802.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broomknoll Street/B802. Continue on B802.
B802700 m
Turn right onto Firhill Avenue.
Firhill Avenue263 m
Turn right onto Woodburn Avenue.
Woodburn Avenue443 m
Turn left onto Victoria Place.
Victoria Place260 m
Turn left onto Devonview Street.
Devonview Street350 m
Turn left onto Thomson Drive.
Thomson Drive107 m
Turn left onto Woodburn Avenue.
Woodburn Avenue318 m
Turn right onto Bellsdyke Road.
Bellsdyke Road261 m
Turn right onto Cairnhill Road/B802. Continue on B802.
B8021.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Calderbank Road/B802.
49 m
Exit the roundabout onto Calderbank Road/B802.
Calderbank Road624 m
Turn left onto Sykeside Road.
Sykeside Road1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Sikeside Street.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sikeside Street.
Sikeside Street651 m
Enter Calder Street and take the 2nd exit onto Locks Street/B753.
Calder Street17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Locks Street/B753.
Locks Street446 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Main Street.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Main Street.
Main Street283 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Airdrie · Route 15 loop. Always drive to the road and conditions you see, not the list — signs, signals and other traffic take priority.
These are the real named features along the loop, straight from our route catalogue. Use them to recognise where you are and to anticipate the hazard each one brings, not to memorise a fixed order.
Decide your lane and exit on the approach to each of these, get set up early.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Multiple roundabouts
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Rawyards Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 30, 40, 60 mph). Watch for repeater signs and adjust early, examiners mark you down for carrying the wrong speed into a new limit.
Residential streets
Narrow residential roads mean parked cars, pedestrians and reduced visibility. Cover the brake, keep your speed down and be ready to give way.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Airdrie High Kirk
Start near Airdrie High Kirk.
New Monkland Parish Church
Continue to New Monkland Parish Church.
Rawyards Roundabout
Continue to Rawyards Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
We Love Ironing
Continue to We Love Ironing.
Lucky Star Chinese Takeaway
Continue to Lucky Star Chinese Takeaway.
Airdrie Baptist Church
Continue to Airdrie Baptist Church.
Legends Bar
Continue to Legends Bar.
Ebenezer Congregational Church
Continue to Ebenezer Congregational Church.
Pilgrim Community Centre
Continue to Pilgrim Community Centre.
War Memorial
Continue to War Memorial.
Greenhill Primary School
Continue to Greenhill Primary School.
Portland High School
Continue to Portland High School.
Alexander Whitelaw & Co Funeral Directors
Continue to Alexander Whitelaw & Co Funeral Directors.
Westend Park
Continue to Westend Park.
Airdrie
Continue to Airdrie.
West End Bar
Continue to West End Bar.
Cairnhill Genral
Continue to Cairnhill Genral.
I.C Hair & Beauty
Continue to I.C Hair & Beauty.
Bar One
Continue to Bar One.
Horseshoe Bar
Finish back near Horseshoe Bar, completing the loop.
11 roundabouts · 9 turns · 1 set of lights
8 roundabouts · 13 turns · 4 sets of lights
8 roundabouts · 19 turns · 1 set of lights
14 roundabouts · 10 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 36.4 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Airdrie test centre, not an official DVSA route.