Near Barking Quay test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 6 roundabouts, 17 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 39.0 km practice loop near Barking Quay 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 Redbridge Roundabout and Charlie Brown's Roundabout. 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, 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, shops, churches 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 Barking Quay 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 77-step drive on real, named roads (about 39.0 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast on Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue412 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Longbridge Road/A124.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road20 m
Turn left to stay on Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.6 km
Turn left onto Broadhurst Avenue.
Broadhurst Avenue292 m
Turn right onto Ashburton Avenue.
Ashburton Avenue16 m
Turn left onto Broadhurst Avenue.
Broadhurst Avenue126 m
Turn left onto Dawlish Drive.
Dawlish Drive474 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive256 m
Turn right onto Water Lane.
Water Lane145 m
Turn right onto Meadway.
Meadway257 m
Turn left onto Dawlish Drive.
Dawlish Drive263 m
Turn right onto Broadhurst Avenue.
Broadhurst Avenue126 m
Turn right onto Ashburton Avenue.
Ashburton Avenue595 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive162 m
Turn left onto Loxford Lane.
Loxford Lane957 m
Turn left onto Medway Close.
Medway Close178 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Medway Close.
Medway Close178 m
Turn right onto Loxford Lane.
Loxford Lane957 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive782 m
Turn right onto Levett Road.
Levett Road231 m
Turn right onto Shirley Gardens.
Shirley Gardens263 m
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.4 km
Turn left onto Forterie Gardens.
Forterie Gardens395 m
Turn left onto Levett Gardens.
Levett Gardens63 m
Turn right onto Gyllyngdune Gardens.
Gyllyngdune Gardens545 m
Turn right onto Breamore Road.
Breamore Road168 m
Turn left onto Charlbury Gardens.
Charlbury Gardens245 m
Turn left onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane242 m
Turn left onto Water Lane.
Water Lane891 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive368 m
Turn right onto Esher Road.
Esher Road314 m
Turn right onto Water Lane.
Water Lane587 m
Turn left onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive256 m
Turn left onto Dawlish Drive.
Dawlish Drive211 m
Turn left onto Meadway.
Meadway257 m
Turn right onto Water Lane.
Water Lane746 m
Turn right onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane1.1 km
Turn left onto Airthrie Road.
Airthrie Road75 m
Turn left onto Castleton Road.
Castleton Road301 m
Turn left onto Goodmayes Road/B177.
Goodmayes Road72 m
Turn right onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane2.0 km
Turn right to stay on Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane89 m
Turn left to stay on Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane17 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Winston Way/A118.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Winston Way/A118.
Winston Way96 m
Move left to stay on Winston Way/A118.
Winston Way685 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Winston Way/A118.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Winston Way/A118. Continue on A118.
A118296 m
Turn right onto Ilford Hill/A118.
Ilford Hill173 m
Keep right to stay on A118.
A11841 m
Turn right onto Chapel Road/A118. Continue on A118.
A118223 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Winston Way/A118.
83 m
Exit the roundabout onto Winston Way/A118. Continue on A118.
A118296 m
Turn right onto Ilford Hill/A118.
Ilford Hill173 m
Keep right to stay on A118.
A11841 m
Turn right onto Chapel Road/A118.
Chapel Road64 m
Move right onto Chapel Road/A118. Continue on A118.
A118225 m
Turn left onto Ilford Hill/A118.
Ilford Hill118 m
Take the exit.
A406222 m
Turn right to take the ramp.
A40676 m
Keep right to take A406/North Circular Road.
A4063.6 km
Keep right to stay on A406/North Circular Road towards N Circular/Walthamstow.
A4062.5 km
Take the Waterworks exit onto A104.
A406479 m
Enter Waterworks Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A406/North Circular Road.
Waterworks Roundabout372 m
Exit the roundabout onto A406/North Circular Road.
A4068.4 km
Take the exit.
A406339 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto London Road/A124.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A124.
London Road210 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto London Road/A123.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A123.
London Road86 m
Turn left to stay on London Road.
London Road179 m
Turn left onto North Street.
North Street310 m
Turn right onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road567 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue226 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barking Quay · 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.
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.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Multiple roundabouts
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Redbridge Roundabout, Charlie Brown's Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
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 (20, 30, 40, 50 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.
Royal Oak
Start near Royal Oak.
Loxford General Store
Continue to Loxford General Store.
St Erkenwald, Barking
Continue to St Erkenwald, Barking.
Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church
Continue to Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church.
South Park Primary School
Continue to South Park Primary School.
iCloudz
Continue to iCloudz.
Rey
Continue to Rey.
Capstone Church London
Continue to Capstone Church London.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Continue to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hospital Chapel of St Mary and St Thomas
Continue to Hospital Chapel of St Mary and St Thomas.
Nails & Spa Ilford
Continue to Nails & Spa Ilford.
Redbridge Roundabout
Continue to Redbridge Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Oakdale Play Area
Continue to Oakdale Play Area.
Grove Hill Evangelical Church
Continue to Grove Hill Evangelical Church.
Woodford Spiritualist Church
Continue to Woodford Spiritualist Church.
Zantel
Continue to Zantel.
Charlie Brown's Roundabout
Continue to Charlie Brown's Roundabout.
Leyton Linen Services
Continue to Leyton Linen Services.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha
Continue to Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Saints Liquor Store
Finish back near Saints Liquor Store, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 16 turns
2 roundabouts · 15 turns · 1 set of lights
2 roundabouts · 10 turns · 1 set of lights
8 roundabouts · 19 turns · 3 sets of lights
This route is 39.0 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Barking Quay test centre, not an official DVSA route.