Near Ashfield test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 16 turns and 8 signalled junctions across 23 navigation steps.
This is an independent 31.0 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.
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, churches, pubs and stations, 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 74-step drive on real, named roads (about 31.0 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.
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 Pavement379 m
Turn right 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 left onto Brook Street.
Brook Street233 m
Turn left onto Spring Road.
Spring Road218 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Spring Road.
42 m
Exit the roundabout onto Spring Road.
Spring Road336 m
Turn right 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 Road741 m
Turn left onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Carsic Road.
Carsic Road264 m
Turn left onto Cowpes Close.
Cowpes Close484 m
Turn left to stay on Cowpes Close.
Cowpes Close56 m
Turn right onto Carsic Road.
Carsic Road263 m
Turn right onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road887 m
Turn left onto Queen Street.
Queen Street128 m
Turn right onto Deepdale Street.
Deepdale Street145 m
Turn right onto Alfred Street.
Alfred Street182 m
Turn right onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road57 m
Turn right onto Howard Street.
Howard Street157 m
Turn right onto Deepdale Street.
Deepdale Street65 m
Turn left onto Deepdale Gardens.
Deepdale Gardens80 m
Turn right to stay on Deepdale Gardens.
Deepdale Gardens184 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Deepdale Gardens.
Deepdale Gardens184 m
Turn right onto Deepdale Park.
Deepdale Park680 m
Turn left onto Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue175 m
Turn left to stay on Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue122 m
Turn right to stay on Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue157 m
Turn right onto Quarrydale Road.
Quarrydale Road379 m
Turn right onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road668 m
Turn left onto Carsic Road.
Carsic Road264 m
Turn left onto Cowpes Close.
Cowpes Close484 m
Turn left to stay on Cowpes Close.
Cowpes Close56 m
Turn right onto Carsic Road.
Carsic Road263 m
Turn right onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road1.5 km
Turn left towards A617/Kings Mill Road East.
A6171.1 km
Turn left onto Mansfield Road/B6014.
Mansfield Road31 m
Turn left onto Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road524 m
Turn left onto Dalestorth Close.
Dalestorth Close123 m
Turn right to stay on Dalestorth Close.
Dalestorth Close18 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Dalestorth Close.
Dalestorth Close18 m
Turn left to stay on Dalestorth Close.
Dalestorth Close123 m
Turn left onto Dalestorth Road.
Dalestorth Road171 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 Road1.0 km
Turn left towards A617/Kings Mill Road East.
A6171.1 km
Make a right U-turn at B6014 to stay on A617.
A6171.1 km
Move right onto A38.
A38437 m
Take the A617 exit towards Sherwood Way South.
A6173.5 km
Make a right U-turn onto A617/Sherwood Way South.
A6172.8 km
Turn left onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road589 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.
B6139805 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Ashfield · Route 8 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.
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 9.1 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.
St Joseph the Worker
Continue to St Joseph the Worker.
Sutton Christian Fellowship
Continue to Sutton Christian Fellowship.
Sutton-in-Ashfield United Reformed Church
Continue to Sutton-in-Ashfield United Reformed Church.
Staff of Life
Continue to Staff of Life.
St Johns Methodist Church
Continue to St Johns Methodist Church.
Sutton Bus Station
Continue to Sutton Bus Station.
White Swan
Continue to White Swan.
Tina's Hair and Beauty
Continue to Tina's Hair and Beauty.
Bamboo House
Continue to Bamboo House.
Local 4U
Continue to Local 4U.
Bridge Baptist Church
Continue to Bridge Baptist Church.
Forest Glade Primary School
Continue to Forest Glade Primary School.
George's Tradition
Continue to George's Tradition.
Speed The Plough
Continue to Speed The Plough.
Ashfield Vans
Continue to Ashfield Vans.
Fox and Crown
Continue to Fox and Crown.
Select And Save
Continue to Select And Save.
Wet Pets
Finish back near Wet Pets, 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 31.0 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.