Near Ashfield test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 9 roundabouts, 16 turns and 8 signalled junctions across 31 navigation steps.
This is an independent 43.0 km practice route near Ashfield test centre, taking roughly 45 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 Ladybrook Lane. 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, 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 schools, churches, stations 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 98-step drive on real, named roads (about 43.0 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
4 m
Turn right.
17 m
Turn right onto B6139.
B6139709 m
Move right onto Eastfield Side.
Eastfield Side487 m
Turn right onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road504 m
Turn left onto Hill Crescent.
Hill Crescent59 m
Turn right onto Lawrence Crescent.
Lawrence Crescent195 m
Turn left onto Roosevelt Road.
Roosevelt Road48 m
Turn left onto Hill Crescent.
Hill Crescent155 m
Turn right onto Mansfield Road/B6023. Continue on B6023.
B60231.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Manor Street.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Manor Street.
Manor Street424 m
Make a sharp left onto Church Hill.
Church Hill32 m
Turn left.
20 m
Turn right onto Church Street.
Church Street120 m
Turn right onto Titchfield Avenue.
Titchfield Avenue124 m
Turn right onto Brook Street.
Brook Street200 m
Turn right onto West End.
West End200 m
Turn right onto Lammas Road/B6023.
Lammas Road388 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Priestsic Road.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Priestsic Road.
Priestsic Road945 m
Turn left onto Dalestorth Street.
Dalestorth Street474 m
Turn right onto Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road679 m
Turn right onto Mansfield Road/B6014. Continue on B6014.
B60141.1 km
Turn left onto Ladybrook Lane.
Ladybrook Lane108 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit.
27 m
Exit the roundabout.
28 m
Make a right U-turn.
28 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Ladybrook Lane.
105 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ladybrook Lane.
Ladybrook Lane108 m
Turn right onto Skegby Lane/B6014. Continue on B6014.
B60141.1 km
Turn left onto Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road695 m
Turn left to stay on Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road474 m
Turn right onto Mansfield Road/B6023. Continue on B6023.
B6023940 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Lammas Road/B6023.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lammas Road/B6023.
Lammas Road517 m
Turn left onto Grosvenor Avenue.
Grosvenor Avenue155 m
Turn right onto Willowbridge Lane.
Willowbridge Lane159 m
Turn right to stay on Willowbridge Lane.
Willowbridge Lane447 m
Make a sharp right onto Alfreton Road/B6023.
Alfreton Road473 m
Turn left onto Lammas Road/B6023.
Lammas Road287 m
Turn right onto Hack Lane.
Hack Lane72 m
Turn right.
120 m
Move left onto Lammas Road/B6023.
Lammas Road16 m
Turn left onto Grosvenor Avenue.
Grosvenor Avenue155 m
Turn left onto Willowbridge Lane.
Willowbridge Lane142 m
Turn left onto West End.
West End200 m
Turn left onto Lammas Road/B6023. Continue on B6023.
B6023184 m
Move right.
32 m
Turn right onto Huthwaite Road.
Huthwaite Road71 m
Move left onto Huthwaite Road/B6026. Continue on B6026.
B60262.1 km
Turn left onto Common Road/B6027.
Common Road1.8 km
Turn left towards A615.
A384.8 km
Move left to stay on A38.
A38748 m
Take the A38 exit on the right towards Mansfield Road.
113 m
Turn right onto A38/Mansfield Road. Continue on A38.
A381.4 km
Make a right U-turn at B6014 to stay on A38.
A381.4 km
Take the A38 exit.
48 m
Move left onto A38.
A383.3 km
Turn left towards B6018/Sutton Road.
Sutton Road539 m
Turn left onto Wentworth Road.
Wentworth Road398 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit.
8 m
Exit the roundabout.
105 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Lindrick Road.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lindrick Road.
Lindrick Road234 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Lindrick Road.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lindrick Road.
Lindrick Road343 m
Turn left onto Southwell Lane.
Southwell Lane216 m
Turn right onto Southwell Close.
Southwell Close160 m
Turn right to stay on Southwell Close.
Southwell Close35 m
Turn right.
7 m
Make a right U-turn.
7 m
Turn left onto Southwell Close.
Southwell Close35 m
Turn left to stay on Southwell Close.
Southwell Close159 m
Turn right onto Southwell Lane.
Southwell Lane325 m
Turn right onto Lowmoor Road/B6021.
Lowmoor Road506 m
Turn left onto Gladstone Street.
Gladstone Street244 m
Turn left onto Marlborough Road.
Marlborough Road95 m
Turn left onto Milton Street.
Milton Street281 m
Turn right onto Lowmoor Road/B6021. Continue on B6021.
B60211.9 km
Turn right onto Farndon Road.
Farndon Road20 m
Turn right onto Kirkby Folly Road.
Kirkby Folly Road178 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Kirkby Folly Road.
Kirkby Folly Road178 m
Turn left onto Farndon Road.
Farndon Road20 m
Turn right onto Kirkby Folly Road/B6021.
Kirkby Folly Road238 m
Turn left onto Station Road/B6022. Continue on Station Road.
Station Road1.3 km
Turn left.
36 m
Make a sharp left.
51 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road936 m
Turn left onto Sheepwash Lane.
Sheepwash Lane287 m
Turn left onto Pepper Street.
Pepper Street350 m
Turn right onto Station Road/B6022. Continue on Station Road.
Station Road757 m
Turn left.
36 m
Make a sharp left.
51 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road563 m
Turn left onto A38.
A38901 m
Turn left towards Coxmoor Road.
Coxmoor Road364 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Ashfield · Route 14 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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 12.6 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 (20, 30, 40, 50, 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.
Bridge Baptist Church
Continue to Bridge Baptist Church.
Sutton Bus Station
Continue to Sutton Bus Station.
Lammas School
Continue to Lammas School.
New Cross
Continue to New Cross.
Ladybrook Lane
Continue to Ladybrook Lane, taking the junction with good observation.
Fox and Crown
Continue to Fox and Crown.
Autoarm
Continue to Autoarm.
St Mary's Memorial Gardens
Continue to St Mary's Memorial Gardens.
Staff of Life
Continue to Staff of Life.
Westbourne School
Continue to Westbourne School.
La Belle Boutique
Continue to La Belle Boutique.
All Saints Church and Centre
Continue to All Saints Church and Centre.
Spar
Continue to Spar.
Magnet
Continue to Magnet.
Sir John Cockle
Continue to Sir John Cockle.
Family Plaice
Continue to Family Plaice.
Premier
Continue to Premier.
Scruffy Dog
Continue to Scruffy Dog.
Chiltern Mills
Finish back near Chiltern Mills, 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 43.0 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Ashfield test centre, not an official DVSA route.