Near Armagh Test Centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 12 turns across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 11.8 km practice loop near Armagh Test Centre, taking roughly 13 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.
On this route you’ll practise independent driving. 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 shops, churches 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 Armagh 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:
The full 22-step drive on real, named roads. An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west on Hamiltonsbawn Road/A51.
Hamiltonsbawn Road
Turn left onto Orangefield Gardens.
Orangefield Gardens
Bear right onto Bannvale Villas.
Bannvale Villas
Turn right.
Turn left.
You have arrived at your destination.
Drive northwest.
Turn left.
Turn left onto A28/Markethill Road. Continue on A28.
A28
Turn left onto Derryraine Road/C208.
Derryraine Road
You have arrived at your destination.
Drive west on Derryraine Road/C208.
Derryraine Road
Turn right onto A28/Markethill Road. Continue on A28.
A28
Turn right onto A3/Barrack Street.
A3
Turn left to stay on A3.
A3
Turn left onto College Street/B115. Continue on B115.
B115
You have arrived at your destination.
Drive south on Lower English Street/B115. Continue on B115.
B115
Turn right onto A3/The Mall West.
A3
Turn left onto Gaol Square/A51.
Gaol Square
Bear right onto Barrack Hill/A51. Continue on A51.
A51
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Armagh Test Centre · Residential + A-road practice loop 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.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Local junctions
Take each junction on its merits, good observation, clear signalling and the right speed on approach. Rehearse the sequence so nothing surprises you on the day.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Geoff's Stores
Start near Geoff's Stores.
Newry Road Off Licence
Continue to Newry Road Off Licence.
Church of God, Armagh
Continue to Church of God, Armagh.
Chippy
Continue to Chippy.
First Presbyterian Church Armagh
Continue to First Presbyterian Church Armagh.
Gospel Hall
Continue to Gospel Hall.
Harvest City Church, Armagh
Continue to Harvest City Church, Armagh.
Mall Presbyterian Church
Continue to Mall Presbyterian Church.
Mays
Continue to Mays.
Victoria Bar
Continue to Victoria Bar.
Butcher
Continue to Butcher.
Devlin's
Continue to Devlin's.
Hughes Bar
Continue to Hughes Bar.
McGeown's Traditional Fish & Chips
Continue to McGeown's Traditional Fish & Chips.
McKennas
Continue to McKennas.
P Leonard
Continue to P Leonard.
Turner’s Pub
Continue to Turner’s Pub.
War memorial
Continue to War memorial.
Milford House Museum
Continue to Milford House Museum.
Maranatha Pentecostal Church
Finish back near Maranatha Pentecostal Church, completing the loop.
2 roundabouts · 6 turns
17 turns
2 roundabouts · 6 turns
6 roundabouts · 4 turns
This route is 11.8 km and takes about 13 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Armagh Test Centre, not an official DVSA route.