Near Barking Quay test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts, 15 turns and 1 signalled junction across 23 navigation steps.
This is an independent 37.8 km practice route 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 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, pubs, 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 87-step drive on real, named roads (about 37.8 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 left onto Ashburton Avenue.
Ashburton Avenue579 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 Gardens313 m
Turn left onto Egerton Gardens.
Egerton Gardens341 m
Turn right onto Water Lane.
Water Lane174 m
Turn right onto Morrab Gardens.
Morrab Gardens258 m
Turn right onto Gyllyngdune Gardens.
Gyllyngdune Gardens153 m
Turn left onto Egerton Gardens.
Egerton Gardens120 m
Turn right onto Westrow Gardens.
Westrow Gardens312 m
Turn right onto Levett Gardens.
Levett Gardens59 m
Turn left onto Forterie Gardens.
Forterie Gardens395 m
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane218 m
Turn right onto Levett Road.
Levett Road231 m
Turn right onto Shirley Gardens.
Shirley Gardens263 m
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.5 km
Turn left onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane1.0 km
Turn left onto Breamore Road.
Breamore Road163 m
Turn left onto Budoch Drive.
Budoch Drive312 m
Turn right onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane699 m
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane1.3 km
Turn right to take the Ripple Road ramp.
Ripple Road219 m
Turn left onto Tudor Road.
Tudor Road101 m
Turn left onto Sisley Road.
Sisley Road54 m
Turn right onto Eastbury Square.
Eastbury Square138 m
Turn left onto Mayesbrook Road.
Mayesbrook Road134 m
Turn left onto Blake Avenue.
Blake Avenue291 m
Turn left onto Sisley Road.
Sisley Road138 m
Turn right onto Tudor Road.
Tudor Road101 m
Turn right onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road210 m
Turn left onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane1.3 km
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane875 m
Turn right onto Kilmartin Road.
Kilmartin Road250 m
Turn left onto Aberdour Road.
Aberdour Road110 m
Turn left onto Abbotsford Road.
Abbotsford Road256 m
Turn left onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane983 m
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Upney Lane.
Upney Lane1.3 km
Turn right to take the Ripple Road ramp.
Ripple Road219 m
Turn left onto Tudor Road.
Tudor Road101 m
Turn left onto Sisley Road.
Sisley Road54 m
Turn right onto Eastbury Square.
Eastbury Square138 m
Turn left onto Mayesbrook Road.
Mayesbrook Road134 m
Turn left onto Blake Avenue.
Blake Avenue291 m
Turn left onto Sisley Road.
Sisley Road138 m
Turn right onto Tudor Road.
Tudor Road101 m
Turn right onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road754 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Lodge Avenue/A1153.
45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lodge Avenue/A1153. Continue on Lodge Avenue.
Lodge Avenue954 m
Turn left to stay on Lodge Avenue.
Lodge Avenue253 m
Turn right onto Bromhall Road.
Bromhall Road251 m
Turn right onto Porters Avenue/A1153.
Porters Avenue254 m
Turn left onto Lodge Avenue/A1153. Continue on Lodge Avenue.
Lodge Avenue954 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ripple Road/A123.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road37 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Ripple Road/A123.
99 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ripple Road/A123.
Ripple Road1.6 km
Turn left onto Movers Lane.
Movers Lane293 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 the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto St Paul's Road/A123.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Paul's Road/A123.
St Paul's Road220 m
Turn left onto Abbey Road.
Abbey Road466 m
Turn left onto Boundary Road.
Boundary Road244 m
Turn left onto Gascoigne Road.
Gascoigne Road405 m
Enter St Paul's Road and take the 2nd exit onto Broadway.
St Paul's Road65 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broadway.
Broadway701 m
Turn right onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road125 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barking Quay · Route 5 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.
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
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.
Pizza Hut Delivery
Start near Pizza Hut Delivery.
Royal Oak
Continue to Royal Oak.
Loxford General Store
Continue to Loxford General Store.
St Erkenwald, Barking
Continue to St Erkenwald, Barking.
Miracle Continental
Continue to Miracle Continental.
South Park Primary School
Continue to South Park Primary School.
Newz & Booze
Continue to Newz & Booze.
Goodmayes Library
Continue to Goodmayes Library.
Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church
Continue to Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church.
Ripple Supermarket
Continue to Ripple Supermarket.
All Saints
Continue to All Saints.
Maplestead Pharmacy
Continue to Maplestead Pharmacy.
Roundhouse
Continue to Roundhouse.
Thatched House
Continue to Thatched House.
Barking Celestial Church of Christ
Continue to Barking Celestial Church of Christ.
Salvation Army Church
Continue to Salvation Army Church.
Boundary Road
Continue to Boundary Road.
Gascoigne Primary School
Continue to Gascoigne Primary School.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha
Continue to Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Quaker Burial Ground
Finish back near Quaker Burial Ground, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 16 turns
6 roundabouts · 17 turns · 5 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 10 turns · 1 set of lights
8 roundabouts · 19 turns · 3 sets of lights
This route is 37.8 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.