Near Barking Quay test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 1 roundabout, 15 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 20 navigation steps.
This is an independent 26.1 km practice loop 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, 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 shops, pubs, schools and churches, 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 70-step drive on real, named roads (about 26.1 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 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 Drive286 m
Turn left onto South Park Terrace.
South Park Terrace360 m
Turn right onto South Park Road.
South Park Road164 m
Turn left onto Golfe Road.
Golfe Road238 m
Turn right onto Gordon Road.
Gordon Road112 m
Turn left onto Winchester Road.
Winchester Road77 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road138 m
Turn left onto Golfe Road.
Golfe Road79 m
Turn left onto Gordon Road.
Gordon Road13 m
Turn right onto Golfe Road.
Golfe Road238 m
Turn right onto South Park Road.
South Park Road164 m
Turn left onto South Park Terrace.
South Park Terrace360 m
Turn right onto South Park Drive.
South Park Drive286 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 Lane29 m
Move left onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane678 m
Turn right onto Trenance Gardens.
Trenance Gardens101 m
Turn right onto Brownlea Gardens.
Brownlea Gardens286 m
Turn right onto Breamore Road.
Breamore Road254 m
Turn right onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane37 m
Turn left onto Abbotsford Road.
Abbotsford Road256 m
Turn right onto Aberdour Road.
Aberdour Road110 m
Turn right onto Kilmartin Road.
Kilmartin Road250 m
Turn right onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane405 m
Turn right onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane347 m
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 Lane29 m
Move left onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane1.3 km
Turn right onto Longbridge Road/A124.
Longbridge Road2.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
68 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road562 m
Turn left onto North Street.
North Street300 m
Turn left onto London Road.
London Road211 m
Move left onto Linton Road.
Linton Road421 m
Turn left onto North Street.
North Street21 m
Turn right.
128 m
Turn left onto Whiting Avenue.
Whiting Avenue21 m
Turn left onto North Street.
North Street231 m
Turn right onto Barking Northern Relief Road/A124.
Barking Northern Relief Road567 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 Road2.1 km
Turn left onto Goodmayes Lane/B177.
Goodmayes Lane1.3 km
Turn right onto Green Lane/A1083.
Green Lane347 m
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 Road241 m
Turn right onto Winchester Road.
Winchester Road113 m
Turn left onto Sunnyside Road.
Sunnyside Road166 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road762 m
Turn left onto Ilford Lane/A123. Continue on A123.
A1231.3 km
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barking Quay · Route 8 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.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near 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.
Favorite Chicken & Ribs
Start near Favorite Chicken & Ribs.
Royal Oak
Continue to Royal Oak.
Gordan Infants School
Continue to Gordan Infants School.
Kurdish Barbers
Continue to Kurdish Barbers.
South Park Primary School
Continue to South Park Primary School.
Fattatts
Continue to Fattatts.
All Saints
Continue to All Saints.
Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church
Continue to Saint Thomas More, Catholic Church.
Gurdwara Singh Sabha
Continue to Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Sacraments Church
Continue to Sacraments Church.
Barking Methodist Church
Continue to Barking Methodist Church.
Catholic Church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, Barking
Continue to Catholic Church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, Barking.
Catch
Continue to Catch.
Miracle Continental
Continue to Miracle Continental.
Dozo
Continue to Dozo.
Prince of Wales
Continue to Prince of Wales.
Clementswood Baptist Church
Continue to Clementswood Baptist Church.
House of Prayer Apostolic Church Ilford
Continue to House of Prayer Apostolic Church Ilford.
Al Madina Mosque Barking
Continue to Al Madina Mosque Barking.
Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald
Finish back near Catholic Church of SS. Mary and Erconwald, 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 26.1 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.