Near Barking Quay test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 11 turns and 1 signalled junction across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.2 km practice loop near Barking Quay test centre, taking roughly 30 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, 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, shops and stations, 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 79-step drive on real, named roads (about 27.1 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 Road3.4 km
Turn left onto Wilmington Gardens.
Wilmington Gardens556 m
Turn right onto Salisbury Avenue.
Salisbury Avenue187 m
Keep right to stay on Salisbury Avenue.
Salisbury Avenue95 m
Turn right onto Cecil Avenue.
Cecil Avenue117 m
Turn left onto Rosslyn Road.
Rosslyn Road151 m
Turn right onto Salisbury Avenue.
Salisbury Avenue217 m
Keep right to stay on Salisbury Avenue.
Salisbury Avenue66 m
Turn right onto Station Parade.
Station Parade136 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
47 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 Lane556 m
Turn left onto Cecil Road.
Cecil Road184 m
Turn left onto Lowbrook Road.
Lowbrook Road23 m
Keep left to stay on Lowbrook Road.
Lowbrook Road40 m
Turn left onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road184 m
Turn right onto Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane490 m
Keep right to stay on A123.
A123808 m
Keep left to take Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue288 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit.
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 St Paul's Road and take the 4th exit onto St Paul's Road/A123.
St Paul's Road129 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Paul's Road/A123. Continue on A123.
A123744 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto London Road/A123.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A123.
London Road86 m
Turn left to stay on London Road.
London Road233 m
Keep left to stay on London Road.
London Road116 m
Keep right to stay on London Road.
London Road40 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 left onto North Street.
North Street445 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto St Paul's Road/A123.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Paul's Road/A123.
St Paul's Road259 m
Turn right onto Axe Street/A123.
Axe Street35 m
Turn right to stay on A123.
A123603 m
Keep right to take Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road526 m
Turn left onto Lambourne Road.
Lambourne Road515 m
Move right to stay on Lambourne Road.
Lambourne Road153 m
Turn right onto Dawson Avenue.
Dawson Avenue350 m
Turn left onto Lambourne Road.
Lambourne Road65 m
Turn left onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road469 m
Turn left onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane407 m
Keep straight to stay on Upney Lane.
Upney Lane1.5 km
Keep right to stay on South Park Drive.
South Park Drive1.1 km
Turn right onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane131 m
Keep left to stay on Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane1.4 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 Lane1.9 km
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road110 m
Keep right to stay on Park Road.
Park Road130 m
Turn right onto Winchester Road.
Winchester Road113 m
Turn left onto Sunnyside Road.
Sunnyside Road166 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road172 m
Turn right onto Dalkeith Road.
Dalkeith Road301 m
Turn left onto Albert Road.
Albert Road421 m
Turn left onto Cleveland Road.
Cleveland Road87 m
Turn left onto Bedford Road.
Bedford Road180 m
Turn left onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road75 m
Turn right onto Albert Road.
Albert Road143 m
Turn right onto Richmond Road.
Richmond Road306 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road507 m
Turn left onto Ilford Lane/A123.
Ilford Lane464 m
Keep right to stay on A123.
A123808 m
Keep left to take Fanshawe Avenue/A123.
Fanshawe Avenue56 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barking Quay · Route 4 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.
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.
Flavorz Wine Bar & Restaurant
Continue to Flavorz Wine Bar & Restaurant.
Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald
Continue to Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald.
House of Prayer Apostolic Church Ilford
Continue to House of Prayer Apostolic Church Ilford.
Clementswood Baptist Church
Continue to Clementswood Baptist Church.
Ilford Lane Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Continue to Ilford Lane Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha
Continue to Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Sacraments Church
Continue to Sacraments Church.
Barking International
Continue to Barking International.
Barking
Continue to Barking.
Be Church
Continue to Be Church.
Upney
Continue to Upney.
Essentials Mini Market
Continue to Essentials Mini Market.
Faircross Fish Bar
Continue to Faircross Fish Bar.
Tigeez Hair & Beauty
Continue to Tigeez Hair & Beauty.
Kurdish Barbers
Continue to Kurdish Barbers.
Lets Go Nicks
Continue to Lets Go Nicks.
Prince of Wales
Continue to Prince of Wales.
St Alban, Great Ilford
Continue to St Alban, Great Ilford.
Ilford Lane Barber
Finish back near Ilford Lane Barber, 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 27.2 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Barking Quay test centre, not an official DVSA route.