Near Airdrie test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 11 roundabouts, 9 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 18.1 km practice loop near Airdrie test centre, taking roughly 35 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 Dundyvan Road and Calder Street. 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, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads, independent driving 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 parks, churches, stations and shops, 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 55-step drive on real, named roads (about 18.1 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.
Aitchison Street57 m
Turn left onto Wilson Street.
Wilson Street272 m
Turn left onto Mavisbank Street.
Mavisbank Street187 m
Enter Park Crescent and take the 6th exit onto Mavisbank Street.
Park Crescent209 m
Exit the roundabout onto Mavisbank Street.
Mavisbank Street587 m
Turn left onto North Bridge Street/B802. Continue on B802.
B8021.9 km
Turn left onto Coatbridge Road/B803.
Coatbridge Road888 m
Turn right onto Coatbridge Road/B803. Continue on B803.
B8031.7 km
Turn left onto Sunnyside Road/B804.
Sunnyside Road48 m
Turn right onto Sunnyside Road/B803.
Sunnyside Road365 m
Turn left to stay on Sunnyside Road/B803.
Sunnyside Road141 m
Turn right.
77 m
Turn left.
16 m
Turn left onto Sunnyside Road/B803.
Sunnyside Road206 m
Move left onto Gartsherrie Road.
Gartsherrie Road270 m
Move left to stay on Gartsherrie Road.
Gartsherrie Road842 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Blair Road.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Blair Road.
Blair Road701 m
Turn left onto Albany Street.
Albany Street101 m
Turn left onto Torrisdale Street.
Torrisdale Street83 m
Turn left onto Lefroy Street.
Lefroy Street97 m
Turn right onto Blair Road.
Blair Road64 m
Turn right onto Muir Street.
Muir Street374 m
Move left onto Blairhill Street.
Blairhill Street135 m
Make a left U-turn at Blairhill Street to stay on Blairhill Street.
Blairhill Street210 m
Turn right onto Lefroy Street.
Lefroy Street108 m
Turn left onto Wood Street.
Wood Street250 m
Turn left onto King Street.
King Street127 m
Turn left onto Blairhill Street.
Blairhill Street309 m
Turn right to stay on Blairhill Street.
Blairhill Street135 m
Make a left U-turn at Blairhill Street to stay on Blairhill Street.
Blairhill Street503 m
Enter Bank Street and take the 2nd exit onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Bank Street32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road514 m
Turn right to stay on Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road100 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road125 m
Turn left to stay on Dundyvan Road.
Dundyvan Road51 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Dundyvan Road.
Dundyvan Road51 m
Turn left onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road632 m
Enter Whifflet Street and take the 3rd exit onto Whifflet Street/A725.
Whifflet Street53 m
Exit the roundabout onto Whifflet Street/A725. Continue on A725.
A7251.3 km
Make a right U-turn at A8 to stay on A725.
A7251.1 km
Turn right onto Calder Street/B753.
Calder Street647 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Calder Street/B753.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Calder Street/B753.
Calder Street64 m
Make a sharp right to stay on Calder Street.
Calder Street48 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Calder Street.
Calder Street511 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Locks Street/B753.
4 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 Street622 m
Keep left to take Aitchison Street/A8010.
Aitchison Street651 m
Turn right onto Aitchison Court.
Aitchison Court37 m
Turn right to stay on Aitchison Court.
Aitchison Court19 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Airdrie · Route 3 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
Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (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.
Mavisbank Park
Start near Mavisbank Park.
Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church
Continue to Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church.
Coatbridge Spiritualist Church
Continue to Coatbridge Spiritualist Church.
Coatbridge Sunnyside
Continue to Coatbridge Sunnyside.
ScotRail
Continue to ScotRail.
La Ronde
Continue to La Ronde.
Blairhill
Continue to Blairhill.
Blairhill and Dundyvan Parish Church
Continue to Blairhill and Dundyvan Parish Church.
Elm Church
Continue to Elm Church.
Banks Social Club
Continue to Banks Social Club.
St Augustine's
Continue to St Augustine's.
Dundyvan Road
Continue to Dundyvan Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Forge
Continue to Forge.
Whifflet Arms
Continue to Whifflet Arms.
Domino's
Continue to Domino's.
Calder Parish Church
Continue to Calder Parish Church.
Calder Street
Continue to Calder Street, taking the junction with good observation.
Horseshoe Bar
Continue to Horseshoe Bar.
Ebenezer Evangelical Church
Continue to Ebenezer Evangelical Church.
Victoria Primary School
Finish back near Victoria Primary School, 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 18.1 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Airdrie test centre, not an official DVSA route.