Near Ashfield test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts, 12 turns and 11 signalled junctions across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 38.4 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 roundabout approach & exit, 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, pubs, churches and shops, 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 110-step drive on real, named roads (about 38.8 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 right onto B6139.
B613950 m
Turn left onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road499 m
Take the A617 exit on the right.
A617358 m
Keep left to stay on A617/Sherwood Way South.
A617200 m
Keep right to stay on A617/Sherwood Way South.
A617191 m
Keep right to stay on A617/Sherwood Way South.
A617541 m
Keep left to stay on A617/Sherwood Way South.
A617202 m
Keep straight to stay on A617/Sherwood Way South.
A6171.4 km
Turn left onto A60/Nottingham Road.
A60491 m
Keep left to stay on A60/Nottingham Road.
A601.7 km
Keep right to stay on A60.
A60383 m
Keep left to take A60/Portland Street.
A60352 m
Move left onto A6009/Rosemary Street.
A600990 m
Move left onto A38/Stockwell Gate. Continue on A38.
A381.5 km
Keep straight to stay on A38.
A381.4 km
Turn right onto Lakeside View.
Lakeside View129 m
Turn left onto Harriers Grove.
Harriers Grove109 m
Turn left onto Broadlands Close.
Broadlands Close32 m
Turn right onto High Oakham Close.
High Oakham Close40 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on High Oakham Close.
High Oakham Close40 m
Turn left onto Broadlands Close.
Broadlands Close32 m
Turn right onto Harriers Grove.
Harriers Grove108 m
Turn right onto Lakeside View.
Lakeside View129 m
Turn left onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road888 m
Keep right to take A38/Sutton Road.
A38629 m
Keep right to stay on A38/Sutton Road.
A38243 m
Turn right onto Sheepbridge Lane.
Sheepbridge Lane771 m
Turn right.
17 m
Turn right.
130 m
Turn right.
11 m
Turn left onto Sheepbridge Lane.
Sheepbridge Lane1.7 km
Keep right to take Skegby Lane/B6014.
Skegby Lane794 m
Turn left onto A617/Kings Mill Road East. Continue on A617.
A6171.1 km
Move right onto A38.
A38264 m
Keep straight to stay on A38.
A38699 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38125 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38879 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38380 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38351 m
Keep left to take A38/Kings Mill Road East.
A38572 m
Turn left towards B6018/Sutton Road.
Sutton Road1.5 km
Turn left onto Chapel Street/B6020. Continue on B6020.
B6020400 m
Turn right onto New Line Road.
New Line Road280 m
Turn right.
28 m
Make a right U-turn.
28 m
Turn left onto New Line Road.
New Line Road281 m
Turn left onto The Hill/B6020. Continue on B6020.
B6020399 m
Turn right onto Sutton Road/B6018.
Sutton Road2.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Spring Road.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Spring Road.
Spring Road418 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 Road741 m
Turn left onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road963 m
Keep right to stay on Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road113 m
Turn left onto Carsic Road.
Carsic Road264 m
Turn left onto Cowpes Close.
Cowpes Close483 m
Turn left to stay on Cowpes Close.
Cowpes Close56 m
Turn right onto Carsic Road.
Carsic Road264 m
Turn right onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road144 m
Keep right to stay on Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road508 m
Keep right to stay on Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road14 m
Turn left onto Quarrydale Road.
Quarrydale Road215 m
Keep left to stay on Quarrydale Road.
Quarrydale Road164 m
Turn left onto Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue157 m
Turn left to stay on Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue60 m
Keep right to stay on Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue61 m
Turn right to stay on Dales Avenue.
Dales Avenue175 m
Turn right onto Farndale Road.
Farndale Road562 m
Turn right onto Beechdale Avenue.
Beechdale Avenue301 m
Turn left onto Quarrydale Road.
Quarrydale Road156 m
Turn left onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road409 m
Turn left onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road108 m
Turn left onto John Street.
John Street49 m
Turn left onto Slater Street.
Slater Street122 m
Turn left onto Alfred Street.
Alfred Street32 m
Turn left onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road51 m
Turn left onto Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road15 m
Keep right to stay on Mansfield Road/B6023.
Mansfield Road92 m
Turn left onto John Street.
John Street49 m
Turn left onto Slater Street.
Slater Street122 m
Turn left onto Alfred Street.
Alfred Street32 m
Turn left onto Stoneyford Road/B6028.
Stoneyford Road51 m
Turn right onto Priestsic Road/B6023.
Priestsic Road458 m
Turn left onto Northern Bridge Road.
Northern Bridge Road247 m
Turn left onto Outram Street.
Outram Street327 m
Turn right onto Stoney Street.
Stoney Street47 m
Turn right onto Bowne Street.
Bowne Street214 m
Turn right onto Penn Street.
Penn Street71 m
Turn left onto Outram Street.
Outram Street77 m
Turn left to stay on Outram Street.
Outram Street200 m
Move left onto Forest Street.
Forest Street162 m
Move left onto Station Road.
Station Road662 m
Turn left onto A38.
A38693 m
Keep right to stay on A38.
A38207 m
Turn left towards Coxmoor Road.
Coxmoor Road364 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Ashfield · Route 9 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.
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.
Roundabout
Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.
Dual-carriageway join
About 14.2 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.
Rushley
Continue to Rushley.
Bethel Street Methodist Church
Continue to Bethel Street Methodist Church.
St Mark's Church Mansfield
Continue to St Mark's Church Mansfield.
Bold Forester
Continue to Bold Forester.
Nell Gwyn
Continue to Nell Gwyn.
Subway
Continue to Subway.
Oakham Garage
Continue to Oakham Garage.
Sir John Cockle
Continue to Sir John Cockle.
Fox and Crown
Continue to Fox and Crown.
Westfield Prestige Cars
Continue to Westfield Prestige Cars.
Hill Methodist Church
Continue to Hill Methodist Church.
Lammas School
Continue to Lammas School.
Staff of Life
Continue to Staff of Life.
Tina's Hair and Beauty
Continue to Tina's Hair and Beauty.
Local 4U
Continue to Local 4U.
Salvation Army - Sutton-in-Ashfield
Continue to Salvation Army - Sutton-in-Ashfield.
St Joseph the Worker
Continue to St Joseph the Worker.
Sutton Christian Fellowship
Finish back near Sutton Christian Fellowship, 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 38.4 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.