Near Ashfield test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 6 roundabouts, 13 turns and 10 signalled junctions across 23 navigation steps.
This is an independent 33.0 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 Leamington Drive. 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, named junctions, 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 67-step drive on real, named roads (about 32.9 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.
B6139568 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 Road296 m
Turn right onto A38.
A38952 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road678 m
Turn left onto High Pavement.
High Pavement501 m
Turn left onto Cowpasture Lane.
Cowpasture Lane371 m
Turn left onto Stuart Street.
Stuart Street274 m
Turn right onto The Twitchell.
The Twitchell124 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Leamington Drive.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto Leamington Drive.
Leamington Drive53 m
Turn right.
39 m
Make a right U-turn.
39 m
Turn left onto Leamington Drive.
Leamington Drive53 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto The Twitchell.
104 m
Exit the roundabout onto The Twitchell.
The Twitchell304 m
Turn left onto Coronation Street.
Coronation Street107 m
Turn right onto Silk Street.
Silk Street236 m
Turn right onto High Pavement.
High Pavement8 m
Turn left onto Langton Road.
Langton Road208 m
Turn left onto Brook Street.
Brook Street60 m
Turn left onto Woods Hill.
Woods Hill82 m
Turn right.
155 m
Make a right U-turn.
155 m
Turn left onto Woods Hill.
Woods Hill82 m
Turn right onto Brook Street.
Brook Street60 m
Turn right onto Langton Road.
Langton Road207 m
Turn left onto High Pavement.
High Pavement380 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road662 m
Turn left onto A38.
A38901 m
Move left to stay on A38.
A386.3 km
Turn left onto Prior Square.
Prior Square84 m
Move right onto Station Street.
Station Street321 m
Turn left onto Vale Road.
Vale Road1.2 km
Turn right.
121 m
Make a right U-turn.
121 m
Turn left onto Common Lane.
Common Lane1.2 km
Turn left onto Station Street.
Station Street94 m
Turn right onto Church Street.
Church Street226 m
Move right onto Church Hill/A6075.
Church Hill810 m
Turn right onto A60/Leeming Lane South. Continue on A60.
A60967 m
Take the A6009 exit towards St Peter's Way.
A60091.2 km
Turn right onto A6009/Rosemary Street.
A6009394 m
Move left onto A38/Stockwell Gate.
A384.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Lammas Road/B6023.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lammas Road/B6023.
Lammas Road386 m
Turn left onto Hack Lane.
Hack Lane82 m
Turn left onto Church Street.
Church Street456 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Priestsic Road.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Priestsic Road.
Priestsic Road423 m
Turn left onto Northern View.
Northern View111 m
Turn left onto Bishop Street.
Bishop Street111 m
Turn left onto Edwin Street.
Edwin Street105 m
Turn right onto Priestsic Road/B6023.
Priestsic Road68 m
Turn left onto Northern Bridge Road.
Northern Bridge Road247 m
Turn left onto Outram Street.
Outram Street577 m
Move right onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road1.3 km
Take the A38 exit on the right.
113 m
Turn right onto A617.
A61729 m
Move right onto A38.
A381.7 km
Make a right U-turn at Station Road/B6022 to stay on A38.
A38917 m
Turn left towards Coxmoor Road.
Coxmoor Road364 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Ashfield · Route 2 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.
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 12.4 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 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.
Sutton Community Academy
Continue to Sutton Community Academy.
Leamington Drive
Continue to Leamington Drive, taking the junction with good observation.
St Joseph the Worker
Continue to St Joseph the Worker.
Sutton Christian Fellowship
Continue to Sutton Christian Fellowship.
Fox and Crown
Continue to Fox and Crown.
Rufford
Continue to Rufford.
Rawlinson's Garage
Continue to Rawlinson's Garage.
Dressing Room
Continue to Dressing Room.
Saville House School
Continue to Saville House School.
St Edmund King and Martyr
Continue to St Edmund King and Martyr.
Bridge Street Methodist Church
Continue to Bridge Street Methodist Church.
Mansfield Christian Community Centre
Continue to Mansfield Christian Community Centre.
Red
Continue to Red.
Sutton Road Caravans
Continue to Sutton Road Caravans.
Bridge Baptist Church
Continue to Bridge Baptist Church.
Lammas School
Continue to Lammas School.
Sutton Bus Station
Continue to Sutton Bus Station.
Resurrection Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Finish back near Resurrection Mixed Martial Arts Academy, 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 33.0 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.