Near Barking Quay test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 1 roundabout, 17 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 20 navigation steps.
This is an independent 32.3 km practice route near Barking Quay test centre, taking roughly 25 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, 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 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 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 92-step drive on real, named roads (about 32.2 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 Avenue124 m
Keep left to stay on Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue288 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 Road3.1 km
Turn left onto Hurstbourne Gardens.
Hurstbourne Gardens270 m
Keep right to stay on Hurstbourne Gardens.
Hurstbourne Gardens10 m
Turn left onto Levett Road.
Levett Road117 m
Keep left to stay on Levett Road.
Levett Road189 m
Turn right onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane484 m
Turn left onto Westrow Drive.
Westrow Drive202 m
Turn right onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road542 m
Turn left onto Woodbridge Road.
Woodbridge Road385 m
Turn left onto Brockdish Avenue.
Brockdish Avenue43 m
Turn right onto Stratton Drive.
Stratton Drive173 m
Turn left onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road204 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive555 m
Keep right to stay on South Park Drive.
South Park Drive1.1 km
Turn left onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane19 m
Keep right to stay on Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane362 m
Turn right onto Buckingham Road.
Buckingham Road139 m
Turn left onto Stanley Road.
Stanley Road70 m
Turn left onto Melford Road.
Melford Road111 m
Turn left onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane418 m
Keep left to stay on Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane19 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive201 m
Keep right to stay on South Park Drive.
South Park Drive1.5 km
Keep left to take Upney Lane.
Upney Lane519 m
Turn left onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road630 m
Turn left onto Woodbridge Road.
Woodbridge Road301 m
Move left to stay on Dereham Road.
Dereham Road102 m
Turn right onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road340 m
Turn left onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane747 m
Turn right to take the Ripple Road ramp.
Ripple Road1.8 km
Enter St Paul's Road and take the 3rd exit onto Broadway.
St Paul's Road104 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broadway.
Broadway390 m
Turn right onto London Road.
London Road211 m
Move left onto Linton Road.
Linton Road146 m
Turn right onto Cambridge Road.
Cambridge Road217 m
Turn left onto Station Parade.
Station Parade43 m
Turn right.
80 m
Make a right U-turn.
80 m
Turn left onto Station Parade.
Station Parade42 m
Turn right onto Cambridge Road.
Cambridge Road403 m
Turn left onto North Street.
North Street445 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto St Paul's Road/A123.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Paul's Road/A123.
St Paul's Road259 m
Move right onto Axe Street/A123.
Axe Street35 m
Turn right to stay on A123.
A123547 m
Turn right onto Movers Lane.
Movers Lane299 m
Turn right onto Perth Road.
Perth Road341 m
Turn right onto King Edward's Road.
King Edward's Road321 m
Move left onto Ripple Road/A123. Continue on A123.
A123472 m
Enter St Paul's Road and take the 3rd exit onto Broadway.
St Paul's Road104 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broadway.
Broadway701 m
Turn right onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road78 m
Keep right to stay on Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road22 m
Move left onto Queen's Road.
Queen's Road342 m
Move right onto Tanner Street.
Tanner Street129 m
Turn left onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123. Continue on A123.
A123300 m
Keep right to take Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane341 m
Keep right to stay on Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane423 m
Turn left onto Howard Road.
Howard Road176 m
Turn left onto Lowbrook Road.
Lowbrook Road67 m
Turn left onto Madras Road.
Madras Road177 m
Turn right onto Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane357 m
Keep right to stay on Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane807 m
Keep left to take Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue288 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
97 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road28 m
Keep left to stay on Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road533 m
Turn left onto North Street.
North Street666 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto St Paul's Road/A123.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Paul's Road/A123.
St Paul's Road259 m
Move right onto Axe Street/A123.
Axe Street35 m
Turn right to stay on A123.
A123297 m
Move right onto King Edward's Road.
King Edward's Road385 m
Turn left onto Keith Road.
Keith Road144 m
Turn left onto Greatfields Road.
Greatfields Road65 m
Turn right onto Perth Road.
Perth Road197 m
Turn left onto Movers Lane.
Movers Lane176 m
Turn left onto Howard Road.
Howard Road279 m
Turn right onto King Edward's Road.
King Edward's Road184 m
Turn right onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road306 m
Keep right to stay on Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road1.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Lodge Avenue/A1153.
45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lodge Avenue/A1153.
Lodge Avenue183 m
Keep right to stay on Lodge Avenue/A1153.
Lodge Avenue170 m
Keep right to stay on Lodge Avenue.
Lodge Avenue599 m
Turn left to stay on Lodge Avenue.
Lodge Avenue1.1 km
Turn left onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.0 km
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barking Quay · Route 12 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.
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.
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.
St Erkenwald, Barking
Continue to St Erkenwald, Barking.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
Favorite Chicken & Ribs
Continue to Favorite Chicken & Ribs.
Paddy Power
Continue to Paddy Power.
S'n'K Food Mart
Continue to S'n'K Food Mart.
Barking Baptist Church (Biserica Baptista Genesis)
Continue to Barking Baptist Church (Biserica Baptista Genesis).
Bestway International Christian Centre
Continue to Bestway International Christian Centre.
Be Church
Continue to Be Church.
Catholic Church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, Barking
Continue to Catholic Church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, Barking.
Barking Celestial Church of Christ
Continue to Barking Celestial Church of Christ.
Al Madina Mosque Barking
Continue to Al Madina Mosque Barking.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha
Continue to Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald
Continue to Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald.
Ilford Lane Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Continue to Ilford Lane Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Sacraments Church
Continue to Sacraments Church.
Job Drain
Continue to Job Drain.
Beks Zone
Continue to Beks Zone.
St Cedd's Church
Continue to St Cedd's Church.
Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church
Finish back near Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 16 turns
6 roundabouts · 17 turns · 5 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 15 turns · 1 set of lights
2 roundabouts · 10 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 32.3 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Barking Quay test centre, not an official DVSA route.