Near Bangor test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 13 roundabouts, 8 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 21.2 km practice route near Bangor test centre, taking roughly 40 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, 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 shops, churches, pubs and schools, 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 Bangor 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 84-step drive on real, named roads (about 21.3 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
211 m
Turn left.
270 m
Turn left.
287 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai193 m
Keep left to stay on Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai121 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ffordd Llandegai.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Llandegai.
Ffordd Llandegai317 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Llandegai.
Ffordd Llandegai969 m
Turn right onto Ponc y Lôn.
Ponc y Lôn397 m
Keep right to stay on Ponc y Lôn.
Ponc y Lôn531 m
Turn right onto Lon Ddwr.
Lon Ddwr384 m
Keep right to stay on Lon Ddwr.
Lon Ddwr253 m
Move left onto Ffordd Llandegai.
Ffordd Llandegai653 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit.
38 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai314 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai280 m
Keep left to stay on Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai108 m
Keep left to stay on Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai224 m
Keep left to stay on A5.
A5394 m
Turn left onto Rhodfa Penrhyn / Penrhyn Avenue.
Rhodfa Penrhyn / Penrhyn Avenue874 m
Turn left onto Rhodfa'r Frenhines.
Rhodfa'r Frenhines61 m
Turn left onto Ffordd Elfed.
Ffordd Elfed121 m
Turn left onto Llain yr Eglwys.
Llain yr Eglwys60 m
Turn right onto Rhodfa Penrhyn / Penrhyn Avenue.
Rhodfa Penrhyn / Penrhyn Avenue776 m
Turn left onto A5.
A51.2 km
Keep straight to take Garth Road/A5.
Garth Road587 m
Turn right onto Lôn Cariadon.
Lôn Cariadon363 m
Turn left onto Upper Garth Road.
Upper Garth Road120 m
Move right onto Meirion Road.
Meirion Road33 m
Keep right to stay on Meirion Road.
Meirion Road186 m
Turn left onto Siliwen Road.
Siliwen Road361 m
Turn left onto Ffordd y Tywysog.
Ffordd y Tywysog173 m
Turn left onto College Road.
College Road41 m
Turn right onto Stryd Deiniol.
Stryd Deiniol40 m
Turn right onto Stryd y Parc.
Stryd y Parc19 m
Move right.
30 m
Turn left.
12 m
Turn left.
24 m
Move right onto Stryd y Parc.
Stryd y Parc19 m
Turn left onto Stryd Deiniol.
Stryd Deiniol40 m
Turn right onto College Road.
College Road47 m
Turn right onto Penrallt Road.
Penrallt Road158 m
Turn right onto Penrallt Isaf.
Penrallt Isaf179 m
Move right onto Allt Glanrafon.
Allt Glanrafon256 m
Turn left onto Ffordd Caergybi/A5. Continue on A5.
A5388 m
Turn left onto Ffordd Deiniol/A5.
Ffordd Deiniol46 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Deiniol/A5.
Ffordd Deiniol77 m
Move right onto Farrar Road/A5. Continue on A5.
A5320 m
Move left onto Caernarfon Road/A4087.
Caernarfon Road350 m
Keep left to stay on Caernarfon Road/A4087.
Caernarfon Road455 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ffordd Caernarfon/A4087.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Caernarfon/A4087. Continue on A4087.
A4087422 m
Turn right onto Ffordd Coed Mawr.
Ffordd Coed Mawr126 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Coed Mawr.
Ffordd Coed Mawr76 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Ffordd Coed Mawr.
34 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Coed Mawr.
Ffordd Coed Mawr95 m
Keep straight to stay on Ffordd Coed Mawr.
Ffordd Coed Mawr139 m
Turn left onto Penrhos Road.
Penrhos Road27 m
Turn right onto Rhodfa Penrhos.
Rhodfa Penrhos56 m
Keep left to stay on Rhodfa Penrhos.
Rhodfa Penrhos57 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Rhodfa Penrhos.
Rhodfa Penrhos114 m
Turn left onto Penrhos Road.
Penrhos Road518 m
Move right onto Penchwintan Road.
Penchwintan Road616 m
Move left onto Caernarfon Road/A4087.
Caernarfon Road255 m
Turn left onto Station Road/B5107.
Station Road136 m
Move right to stay on Station Road/B5107.
Station Road26 m
Move right onto Ffordd Deiniol/A5.
Ffordd Deiniol84 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Deiniol/A5.
Ffordd Deiniol180 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ffordd Deiniol/A5.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Deiniol/A5.
Ffordd Deiniol63 m
Keep right to stay on A5.
A5823 m
Keep left to stay on A5.
A52.0 km
Keep left to take Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai101 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai154 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai280 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai193 m
Keep left to stay on Ffordd Llandegai/A5.
Ffordd Llandegai121 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ffordd Llandegai.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd Llandegai.
Ffordd Llandegai317 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Llandegai.
Ffordd Llandegai757 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Bangor · Route 3 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.
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.
Howdens Joinery
Start near Howdens Joinery.
St Cross Church
Continue to St Cross Church.
Stores
Continue to Stores.
Lord Nelson
Continue to Lord Nelson.
Penuel Chapel
Continue to Penuel Chapel.
Eryri
Continue to Eryri.
Môn
Continue to Môn.
Assemblies of God Bangor Pentecostal Church
Continue to Assemblies of God Bangor Pentecostal Church.
Capel y Fynnon
Continue to Capel y Fynnon.
Bangor Morrisons
Continue to Bangor Morrisons.
Bangor Railway Station
Continue to Bangor Railway Station.
St David's Church
Continue to St David's Church.
St. John's Methodist Church
Continue to St. John's Methodist Church.
Union
Continue to Union.
Penrhos
Continue to Penrhos.
Top Coed Mawr
Continue to Top Coed Mawr.
Ffordd Penrhos
Continue to Ffordd Penrhos.
Bangor
Continue to Bangor.
Ffordd Deiniol
Continue to Ffordd Deiniol.
Bangor Bus Station
Finish back near Bangor Bus Station, completing the loop.
20 roundabouts · 9 turns
11 roundabouts · 12 turns · 3 sets of lights
8 roundabouts · 15 turns
11 roundabouts · 13 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 21.2 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Bangor test centre, not an official DVSA route.