Near Airdrie test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 11 turns and 4 signalled junctions across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 20.0 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 Park Crescent 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, 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 named junctions, pubs, churches and schools, 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 83-step drive on real, named roads (about 20.1 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 7th exit onto Mavisbank Street.
Park Crescent209 m
Exit the roundabout onto Mavisbank Street.
Mavisbank Street270 m
Turn right onto Davidson Street.
Davidson Street259 m
Turn right onto Aitchison Street/A8010.
Aitchison Street100 m
Turn left onto Sword Street.
Sword Street89 m
Turn left onto West Kirk Street.
West Kirk Street123 m
Turn left onto Bell Street.
Bell Street90 m
Turn right onto High Street/A8010.
High Street136 m
Turn right onto Wellwynd.
Wellwynd268 m
Turn right onto Stirling Street.
Stirling Street12 m
Keep right to stay on Stirling Street.
Stirling Street115 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Alexander Street/A89.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto Alexander Street/A89.
Alexander Street1.4 km
Enter Main Street and take the 1st exit onto Locks Street/B753.
Main Street6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Locks Street/B753.
Locks Street241 m
Keep left to stay on Locks Street/B753.
Locks Street210 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Calder Street/B753.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Calder Street/B753.
Calder Street527 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Calder Street/B753.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Calder Street/B753.
Calder Street638 m
Turn left onto Whifflet Street/A725. Continue on A725.
A7251.1 km
Make a right U-turn at A8 onto North Road/A725.
North Road88 m
Keep left to stay on A725.
A7251.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road632 m
Turn right 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 Road256 m
Turn right onto Newlands Street.
Newlands Street299 m
Keep left to stay on Newlands Street.
Newlands Street41 m
Turn right onto Willow Crescent.
Willow Crescent117 m
Turn right to stay on Willow Crescent.
Willow Crescent78 m
Turn left to stay on Willow Crescent.
Willow Crescent94 m
Turn left onto Newlands Street.
Newlands Street101 m
Keep right to stay on Newlands Street.
Newlands Street130 m
Keep left to stay on Newlands Street.
Newlands Street9 m
Turn right onto Hozier Street.
Hozier Street227 m
Keep right to stay on Hozier Street.
Hozier Street46 m
Turn left onto Wallace Street.
Wallace Street140 m
Move left onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road183 m
Turn left onto Newlands Street.
Newlands Street299 m
Keep left to stay on Newlands Street.
Newlands Street183 m
Turn right onto Barrowfield Street.
Barrowfield Street135 m
Turn right to stay on Barrowfield Street.
Barrowfield Street365 m
Turn left onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road194 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dundyvan Road/B753.
Dundyvan Road756 m
Enter Whifflet Street and take the 1st exit.
Whifflet Street24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Coatbank Street/A725.
Coatbank Street230 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Coatbank Street/A725.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Coatbank Street/A725.
Coatbank Street481 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Coatbank Street/A725.
96 m
Exit the roundabout onto Coatbank Street/A725.
Coatbank Street76 m
Move left onto Coatbank Way.
Coatbank Way400 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Coatbank Way.
Coatbank Way362 m
Move left onto Coatbank Street.
Coatbank Street384 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Coatbank Street/A725.
79 m
Exit the roundabout onto Coatbank Street/A725.
Coatbank Street480 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Main Street/B804.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Main Street/B804. Continue on B804.
B804606 m
Turn right onto Dunbeth Avenue.
Dunbeth Avenue231 m
Turn right onto Portland Street.
Portland Street211 m
Turn left onto Kildonan Street.
Kildonan Street1.0 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.
A89180 m
Keep left to take Aitchison Street/A8010.
Aitchison Street709 m
Turn left onto Davidson Street.
Davidson Street60 m
Turn right onto Burnbank Street.
Burnbank Street63 m
Keep right to stay on Burnbank Street.
Burnbank Street134 m
Turn left onto Mitchell Street.
Mitchell Street121 m
Turn right onto Davidson Street.
Davidson Street65 m
Turn right onto Mavisbank Street.
Mavisbank Street317 m
Turn left onto North Bridge Street/B802. Continue on B802.
B802337 m
Turn right onto South Commonhead Avenue.
South Commonhead Avenue126 m
Turn left onto Commonhead Street/B802. Continue on B802.
B802548 m
Turn right onto High Street/A8010. Continue on A8010.
A8010354 m
Turn left 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 4 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.
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.
Park Crescent
Start near Park Crescent.
Yesterdays
Continue to Yesterdays.
West End Bar
Continue to West End Bar.
Bar One
Continue to Bar One.
Calder Street
Continue to Calder Street, taking the junction with good observation.
Calder Parish Church
Continue to Calder Parish Church.
Carsons
Continue to Carsons.
Coatholm Nursery
Continue to Coatholm Nursery.
St Mary's Primary School (Coatbridge)
Continue to St Mary's Primary School (Coatbridge).
Corner Room
Continue to Corner Room.
Whifflet
Continue to Whifflet.
Subway
Continue to Subway.
Greenhill Primary School
Continue to Greenhill Primary School.
Ian Bannen Theatre
Continue to Ian Bannen Theatre.
Alexander Whitelaw & Co Funeral Directors
Continue to Alexander Whitelaw & Co Funeral Directors.
Ebenezer Evangelical Church
Continue to Ebenezer Evangelical Church.
Mavisbank Park
Continue to Mavisbank Park.
Airdrie High Kirk
Continue to Airdrie High Kirk.
Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church
Continue to Airdrie Reformed Presbyterian Church.
Aldi
Finish back near Aldi, 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 20.0 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.