Near Barking Quay test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts, 11 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 19 navigation steps.
This is an independent 35.4 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.
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 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 churches, pubs, named junctions and parks, 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 83-step drive on real, named roads (about 35.3 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 Road134 m
Turn left onto Park Avenue.
Park Avenue240 m
Turn left onto Monteagle Avenue.
Monteagle Avenue133 m
Turn left onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue195 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
142 m
Exit the roundabout onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123. Continue on A123.
A123749 m
Keep right to take Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane341 m
Keep right to stay on Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane164 m
Turn left onto Mayville Road.
Mayville Road264 m
Turn left onto Hickling Road.
Hickling Road208 m
Turn right onto Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane102 m
Keep right to stay on Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane543 m
Turn right onto Victoria Road.
Victoria Road155 m
Move right to stay on Victoria Road.
Victoria Road80 m
Turn left onto Loxford Road.
Loxford Road166 m
Turn left onto Tanner Street.
Tanner Street252 m
Turn left onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123. Continue on A123.
A12399 m
Turn left onto Victoria Road.
Victoria Road155 m
Move right to stay on Victoria Road.
Victoria Road80 m
Turn left onto Loxford Road.
Loxford Road166 m
Turn left onto Tanner Street.
Tanner Street251 m
Turn left onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123. Continue on A123.
A123706 m
Keep right to take Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane782 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Winston Way/A118.
9 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.
A4063.5 km
Keep left to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A406123 m
Keep left to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A40625 m
Keep right to stay on A406/North Circular Road towards N Circular/Walthamstow.
A40690 m
Keep right to stay on A406/North Circular Road towards N Circular/Walthamstow.
A4062.5 km
Take the Waterworks exit onto A104.
A40675 m
Take the A104 ramp.
A406403 m
Enter Waterworks Roundabout and take the 3rd exit.
Waterworks Roundabout372 m
Exit the roundabout onto A406/North Circular Road.
A406502 m
Keep left to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A406111 m
Keep left to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A406162 m
Keep left to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A406246 m
Keep left to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A406136 m
Keep right to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A4061.9 km
Keep right to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A406107 m
Keep right to stay on A406/North Circular Road.
A4066.7 km
Take the exit.
A13263 m
Keep left to stay on A13.
A1321 m
Keep right to take A13.
A132.1 km
Take the Lodge Avenue/Ripple Road Junction exit towards Romford/Beacontree Heath/A1153.
A13264 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ripple Road/A123.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road2.3 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 Parade43 m
Turn right onto Cambridge Road.
Cambridge Road403 m
Turn right onto North Street.
North Street231 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 Road488 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Longbridge Road/A124.
60 m
Exit the roundabout onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road20 m
Turn left to stay on Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road889 m
Turn right onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane111 m
Keep left to stay on Upney Lane.
Upney Lane590 m
Turn left onto Westrow Drive.
Westrow Drive90 m
Turn left onto Melford Avenue.
Melford Avenue112 m
Turn left onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road89 m
Turn right onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane598 m
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road75 m
Keep left to stay on Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road549 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barking Quay · Route 14 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.
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 18.1 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.
Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald
Start near Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald.
Sacraments Church
Continue to Sacraments Church.
Ilford Lane Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Continue to Ilford Lane Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Hospital Chapel of St Mary and St Thomas
Continue to Hospital Chapel of St Mary and St Thomas.
House of Prayer Apostolic Church Ilford
Continue to House of Prayer Apostolic Church Ilford.
Champ's
Continue to Champ's.
Redbridge Roundabout
Continue to Redbridge Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Roding Valley Park
Continue to Roding Valley Park.
Grove Hill Evangelical Church
Continue to Grove Hill Evangelical Church.
Woodford Spiritualist Church
Continue to Woodford Spiritualist Church.
Charlie Brown's Roundabout
Continue to Charlie Brown's Roundabout.
Freshco Catering Supplies
Continue to Freshco Catering Supplies.
Shugard Self Storage Barking
Continue to Shugard Self Storage Barking.
Beks Zone
Continue to Beks Zone.
Thatched House
Continue to Thatched House.
Bestway International Christian Centre
Continue to Bestway International Christian Centre.
Salvation Army Church
Continue to Salvation Army Church.
Catholic Church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, Barking
Continue to Catholic Church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, Barking.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha
Continue to Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Royal Oak
Finish back near Royal Oak, 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 35.4 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.