Near Ashfield test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 12 turns and 10 signalled junctions across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 43.6 km practice route near Ashfield 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 Hamilton Road. 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, dual-carriageway joins, national-speed roads, 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 schools, 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 Ashfield 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 95-step drive on real, named roads (about 43.7 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest.
17 m
Turn right onto B6139.
B6139153 m
Turn left onto A38.
A3852 m
Make a sharp right to stay on A38.
A3843 m
Turn left onto Coxmoor Road.
Coxmoor Road398 m
Turn left onto Lucknow Drive.
Lucknow Drive92 m
Turn left onto Sandown Road.
Sandown Road105 m
Turn left onto Fairfield Road.
Fairfield Road65 m
Turn right onto Coxmoor Road.
Coxmoor Road982 m
Turn right onto Newark Road/B6022.
Newark Road471 m
Turn right onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road417 m
Turn left.
42 m
Turn right.
11 m
Turn left onto B6139.
B6139437 m
Turn left onto A38.
A3888 m
Keep left to stay on A38.
A38106 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38125 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38623 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road678 m
Move right onto Forest Street.
Forest Street162 m
Move right onto Outram Street.
Outram Street45 m
Turn right onto Portland Street.
Portland Street195 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Portland Street.
Portland Street195 m
Turn right onto Outram Street.
Outram Street155 m
Turn right to stay on Outram Street.
Outram Street444 m
Keep right to stay on Outram Street.
Outram Street606 m
Turn right onto Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road679 m
Turn right onto Mansfield Road/B6014.
Mansfield Road36 m
Turn left towards A617.
A61743 m
Keep right to stay on A617.
A617680 m
Keep left to take A617/Abbott Road.
A617162 m
Turn left onto A617/Sherwood Way West.
A6171.7 km
Keep left to stay on A617/Sherwood Way West.
A617155 m
Keep left to stay on A617/Sherwood Way West.
A617429 m
Move right towards A6191.
A61749 m
Turn left onto A617/Chesterfield Road North.
A61741 m
Keep left to stay on A617.
A6171.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto A617.
222 m
Exit the roundabout onto A617.
A617707 m
Keep left to stay on A617.
A617781 m
Turn right onto A617/Sherwood Way West.
A617712 m
Keep right to stay on A617/Sherwood Way West.
A617118 m
Keep right to stay on A617/Sherwood Way West.
A6171.6 km
Turn right onto A617/Abbott Road. Continue on A617.
A6171.3 km
Keep right to stay on A617.
A617668 m
Move right onto A38.
A38264 m
Keep straight to stay on A38.
A38457 m
Turn left towards B6139.
B6139699 m
Turn right onto Newark Road/B6022.
Newark Road570 m
Turn left onto Kirkby Folly Road/B6021.
Kirkby Folly Road228 m
Keep right to stay on B6021.
B60212.4 km
Turn left onto Station Street/B6020.
Station Street97 m
Turn right onto Kingsway/B6021.
Kingsway216 m
Turn right onto New Street.
New Street76 m
Turn right.
63 m
Turn right.
43 m
Turn left onto Kingsway/B6021.
Kingsway145 m
Turn right onto Diamond Avenue/B6020.
Diamond Avenue1.3 km
Turn left onto Derby Road/A611.
Derby Road1.4 km
Turn left onto B6139.
B61392.8 km
Turn left onto A38.
A3852 m
Make a sharp right to stay on A38.
A38450 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A381.2 km
Keep left to take A617/Kings Mill Road East.
A617101 m
Keep right to stay on A617.
A617867 m
Keep left to take A617/Abbott Road.
A617173 m
Make a right U-turn at A617/Sherwood Way West to stay on A617/Abbott Road.
A617890 m
Turn left onto Skegby Lane/B6014.
Skegby Lane96 m
Keep left to stay on Skegby Lane/B6014.
Skegby Lane1.1 km
Turn right onto Rannoch Drive.
Rannoch Drive303 m
Turn left to stay on Rannoch Drive.
Rannoch Drive506 m
Turn left onto Skegby Mount.
Skegby Mount76 m
Turn left onto Skegby Lane/B6014.
Skegby Lane884 m
Keep right to stay on B6014.
B6014836 m
Turn left onto Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road695 m
Turn left to stay on Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road56 m
Turn left onto Skegby Road.
Skegby Road273 m
Turn left onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road2.2 km
Keep right to stay on A38/Sutton Road.
A3853 m
Turn right onto Hermitage Lane.
Hermitage Lane949 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hamilton Road.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road131 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hamilton Road.
49 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road137 m
Move left to stay on Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road684 m
Turn left onto B6139.
B6139202 m
Turn right onto Newark Road/B6022.
Newark Road471 m
Turn right onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road418 m
Turn left.
42 m
Turn right.
11 m
Turn left onto B6139.
B6139437 m
Turn left onto A38.
A3852 m
Turn right towards Coxmoor Road.
54 m
Move left onto Coxmoor Road.
Coxmoor Road310 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Ashfield · Route 1 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.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 17.3 km of this loop is dual carriageway. Build your speed on the slip road, take an effective rearward observation, and merge without forcing other traffic to brake.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (30, 40, 50, 60, 70 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.
Hillocks Primary Academy
Start near Hillocks Primary Academy.
Hillocks Primary School
Continue to Hillocks Primary School.
Enjoys Best
Continue to Enjoys Best.
Lidl
Continue to Lidl.
Resurrection Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Continue to Resurrection Mixed Martial Arts Academy.
St Joseph the Worker
Continue to St Joseph the Worker.
Golden Hill
Continue to Golden Hill.
P&A Stores
Continue to P&A Stores.
Premier
Continue to Premier.
Ron Currie and Sons
Continue to Ron Currie and Sons.
Doghouse
Continue to Doghouse.
Triple 7 Bar and kitchen
Continue to Triple 7 Bar and kitchen.
Kirkby Community Church
Continue to Kirkby Community Church.
Regent
Continue to Regent.
Fox and Crown
Continue to Fox and Crown.
Blue Bell
Continue to Blue Bell.
Speed The Plough
Continue to Speed The Plough.
Booker Wholesale
Continue to Booker Wholesale.
Sutton Road Caravans
Continue to Sutton Road Caravans.
Hamilton Road
Finish back near Hamilton Road, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 10 turns · 11 sets of lights
10 roundabouts · 12 turns · 8 sets of lights
8 roundabouts · 12 turns · 11 sets of lights
5 roundabouts · 11 turns · 9 sets of lights
This route is 43.6 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Ashfield test centre, not an official DVSA route.