Near Atherton test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 19 turns and 7 signalled junctions across 25 navigation steps.
This is an independent 40.4 km practice loop near Atherton 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, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads, independent driving 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 pubs, churches, stations 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 Atherton 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 103-step drive on real, named roads (about 43.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west.
34 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn right onto Gibfield Park Avenue.
Gibfield Park Avenue232 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bag Lane.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bag Lane.
Bag Lane718 m
Turn left onto Gloucester Street.
Gloucester Street555 m
Turn right onto York Street.
York Street198 m
Turn left onto A579/Bolton Road.
A579652 m
Keep straight to stay on A579.
A5791.5 km
Keep straight to take A579/Newbrook Road.
A579484 m
Keep left to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579552 m
Turn left onto A6/Manchester Road.
A61.3 km
Keep right to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A6576 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 3rd exit.
Chequerbent Roundabout136 m
Exit the roundabout onto Manchester Road/A6.
Manchester Road852 m
Turn right onto Bolton Road.
Bolton Road1.1 km
Make a right U-turn to stay on Bolton Road.
Bolton Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Manchester Road/A6.
Manchester Road858 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6/Manchester Road.
Chequerbent Roundabout182 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Manchester Road.
A634 m
Turn left to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A6635 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A61.1 km
Keep left to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A6136 m
Turn right onto A579/Newbrook Road.
A579396 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579123 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579517 m
Keep left to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579238 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579132 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A57964 m
Turn left onto Breeze Hill Road.
Breeze Hill Road166 m
Move left onto Shurdington Road.
Shurdington Road470 m
Turn left onto Firs Road.
Firs Road107 m
Turn right onto A579/Newbrook Road.
A579380 m
Keep left to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579552 m
Turn left onto A6/Manchester Road.
A61.3 km
Keep right to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A6576 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Manchester Road/A6.
Chequerbent Roundabout137 m
Exit the roundabout onto Manchester Road/A6.
Manchester Road112 m
Turn left to stay on Manchester Road.
Manchester Road27 m
Turn left to stay on Manchester Road.
Manchester Road21 m
Keep left to stay on Manchester Road.
Manchester Road54 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road63 m
Make a sharp left onto A58/Park Road.
A5879 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A6/Manchester Road.
Chequerbent Roundabout256 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Manchester Road.
A634 m
Turn left to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A6635 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A61.2 km
Turn left onto St Helens Road/A579.
St Helens Road226 m
Turn right onto Plodder Lane/B6199.
Plodder Lane926 m
Turn left onto Smethurst Lane.
Smethurst Lane117 m
Move right.
55 m
Turn left.
9 m
Turn left onto Smethurst Lane.
Smethurst Lane169 m
Turn right onto Plodder Lane/B6199.
Plodder Lane926 m
Turn left onto St Helens Road/A579. Continue on A579.
A579623 m
Keep right to take A579/Newbrook Road.
A579123 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579517 m
Keep left to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579238 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579132 m
Keep right to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A57964 m
Turn left onto Breeze Hill Road.
Breeze Hill Road166 m
Move left onto Shurdington Road.
Shurdington Road470 m
Turn left onto Firs Road.
Firs Road107 m
Turn right onto A579/Newbrook Road.
A579381 m
Keep left to stay on A579/Newbrook Road.
A579552 m
Turn left onto A6/Manchester Road.
A61.3 km
Keep right to stay on A6/Manchester Road.
A6576 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Manchester Road/A6.
Chequerbent Roundabout137 m
Exit the roundabout onto Manchester Road/A6.
Manchester Road112 m
Turn left to stay on Manchester Road.
Manchester Road27 m
Turn left to stay on Manchester Road.
Manchester Road21 m
Keep left to stay on Manchester Road.
Manchester Road54 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road1.6 km
Turn right onto Mill Street/B5235.
Mill Street59 m
Make a sharp right.
50 m
Move left onto A58/Cricketers Way. Continue on A58.
A581.3 km
Turn left onto Molyneux Road.
Molyneux Road424 m
Turn left onto Captain Lees Road.
Captain Lees Road513 m
Turn right onto Captain Lees Gardens.
Captain Lees Gardens127 m
Turn right to stay on Captain Lees Gardens.
Captain Lees Gardens44 m
Turn right to stay on Captain Lees Gardens.
Captain Lees Gardens6 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Captain Lees Gardens.
Captain Lees Gardens6 m
Turn left to stay on Captain Lees Gardens.
Captain Lees Gardens44 m
Turn left to stay on Captain Lees Gardens.
Captain Lees Gardens127 m
Turn left onto Captain Lees Road.
Captain Lees Road514 m
Turn right onto Molyneux Road.
Molyneux Road424 m
Turn left onto A58/Park Road.
A58333 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Manchester Road/A6.
Chequerbent Roundabout12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Manchester Road/A6.
Manchester Road852 m
Turn right onto Bolton Road.
Bolton Road1.1 km
Make a right U-turn to stay on Bolton Road.
Bolton Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Manchester Road/A6.
Manchester Road859 m
Enter Chequerbent Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A58/Park Road.
Chequerbent Roundabout292 m
Exit the roundabout onto A58/Park Road.
A5881 m
Keep left to stay on A58.
A581.6 km
Turn right onto Mill Street/B5235.
Mill Street59 m
Make a sharp right.
50 m
Move left onto A58/Cricketers Way. Continue on A58.
A581.0 km
Turn right onto Platt Lane.
Platt Lane1.2 km
Move left onto North Road.
North Road955 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Gibfield Park Avenue.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gibfield Park Avenue.
Gibfield Park Avenue161 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Atherton · Route 11 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.
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 24.3 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 (20, 30, 40 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.
Bent & Bongs Beer Festival
Start near Bent & Bongs Beer Festival.
Lion
Continue to Lion.
Railway Hotel
Continue to Railway Hotel.
St George
Continue to St George.
Atherton
Continue to Atherton.
Hulton Arms
Continue to Hulton Arms.
St Andrew's Church Over Hulton
Continue to St Andrew's Church Over Hulton.
St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
Continue to St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.
Beech Hall Farm Garden Centre
Continue to Beech Hall Farm Garden Centre.
Spar
Continue to Spar.
Subway
Continue to Subway.
Hollies Hair Lounge
Continue to Hollies Hair Lounge.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
White Horse Tavern
Continue to White Horse Tavern.
Jodie's Flat
Continue to Jodie's Flat.
Morgan Birt
Continue to Morgan Birt.
Red Lion
Continue to Red Lion.
Pravins Off Licence
Continue to Pravins Off Licence.
AD3 Design
Continue to AD3 Design.
Beauty Boutique
Finish back near Beauty Boutique, completing the loop.
7 roundabouts · 16 turns · 2 sets of lights
3 roundabouts · 14 turns · 4 sets of lights
6 roundabouts · 18 turns · 7 sets of lights
8 roundabouts · 14 turns · 5 sets of lights
This route is 40.4 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Atherton test centre, not an official DVSA route.