Near Barnet test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts, 17 turns and 1 signalled junction across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 30.2 km practice loop near Barnet 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, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, 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, 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 Barnet 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 68-step drive on real, named roads (about 30.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast on Western Parade.
Western Parade23 m
Turn right onto Raydean Road.
Raydean Road110 m
Turn right to stay on Raydean Road.
Raydean Road157 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Raydean Road.
Raydean Road157 m
Turn left to stay on Raydean Road.
Raydean Road105 m
Turn right onto Great North Road.
Great North Road219 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road65 m
Turn right to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road15 m
Turn left onto Pricklers Hill/A1000. Continue on A1000.
A1000379 m
Turn right onto Station Road/A110. Continue on A110.
A1101.1 km
Turn left onto Victoria Road.
Victoria Road469 m
Turn right onto Margaret Road.
Margaret Road215 m
Turn right onto East Barnet Road/A110. Continue on A110.
A1101.4 km
Turn right onto Barnet Hill/A1000. Continue on A1000.
A10001.1 km
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road254 m
Turn left.
39 m
Make a right U-turn.
39 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road254 m
Turn left onto High Street/A1000. Continue on A1000.
A10001.0 km
Move left onto Station Road/A110. Continue on A110.
A1101.1 km
Turn left onto Victoria Road.
Victoria Road302 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road571 m
Turn left onto Edgeworth Road.
Edgeworth Road131 m
Turn right onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road490 m
Turn right onto Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant74 m
Turn right onto Norrys Road.
Norrys Road337 m
Turn left onto Belmont Avenue.
Belmont Avenue199 m
Turn left onto Evelyn Road.
Evelyn Road228 m
Turn right onto Norrys Road.
Norrys Road127 m
Turn left onto Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant112 m
Turn right onto Bevan Road.
Bevan Road274 m
Turn right onto Langford Crescent.
Langford Crescent326 m
Turn left onto Bevan Road.
Bevan Road98 m
Turn left onto Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant38 m
Turn right onto Hamilton Road.
Hamilton Road490 m
Turn right onto Edgeworth Road.
Edgeworth Road37 m
Turn left onto Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant217 m
Turn left to stay on Mount Pleasant.
Mount Pleasant839 m
Turn left onto Cockfosters Road/A111. Continue on A111.
A1114.2 km
Enter Potters Bar Interchange and take the 2nd exit onto Southgate Road/A111.
Potters Bar Interchange252 m
Exit the roundabout onto Southgate Road/A111.
Southgate Road555 m
Turn left onto Whaley Road.
Whaley Road167 m
Turn left onto Barnet Road/A1000.
Barnet Road253 m
Turn left onto Hill Rise.
Hill Rise331 m
Turn left onto Southgate Road/A111.
Southgate Road380 m
Turn left onto Whaley Road.
Whaley Road167 m
Turn left onto Barnet Road/A1000. Continue on A1000.
A10006.2 km
Turn right onto Great North Road.
Great North Road15 m
Turn left to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road65 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road65 m
Turn right to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road15 m
Turn left onto Pricklers Hill/A1000. Continue on A1000.
A1000379 m
Turn right onto Station Road/A110.
Station Road421 m
Turn left onto Warwick Road.
Warwick Road269 m
Turn right onto Bulwer Road.
Bulwer Road175 m
Turn left onto Hadley Road.
Hadley Road568 m
Turn left onto Tudor Road.
Tudor Road89 m
Turn left onto Woodville Road.
Woodville Road317 m
Turn left onto Potters Road.
Potters Road442 m
Move right onto Plantagenet Road.
Plantagenet Road273 m
Turn right onto Station Road/A110.
Station Road643 m
Turn left onto Great North Road/A1000. Continue on A1000.
A1000403 m
Turn right onto Great North Road.
Great North Road15 m
Turn left to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road65 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Great North Road.
Great North Road219 m
Turn left onto Raydean Road.
Raydean Road105 m
Turn right to stay on Raydean Road.
Raydean Road76 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barnet · 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.
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.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 30, 40, 60 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.
Aquaroom
Start near Aquaroom.
Weavers
Continue to Weavers.
St James' Church
Continue to St James' Church.
St. Margaret's Nursery School
Continue to St. Margaret's Nursery School.
Queens Arms
Continue to Queens Arms.
Barnet Church
Continue to Barnet Church.
Fitzjohn Avenue
Continue to Fitzjohn Avenue.
Smart Cutz
Continue to Smart Cutz.
Cockfosters
Continue to Cockfosters.
Cockfosters Station
Continue to Cockfosters Station.
Best-one
Continue to Best-one.
Potters Bar Baptist Church
Continue to Potters Bar Baptist Church.
Potters Bar Spiritualist Church
Continue to Potters Bar Spiritualist Church.
Duke of York
Continue to Duke of York.
Hadley Green
Continue to Hadley Green.
High Barnet Baptist Church
Continue to High Barnet Baptist Church.
St John the Baptist Church
Continue to St John the Baptist Church.
John's Cycles
Continue to John's Cycles.
St Mark
Continue to St Mark.
New Barnet Friends Meeting House (Quakers)
Finish back near New Barnet Friends Meeting House (Quakers), completing the loop.
2 roundabouts · 12 turns · 1 set of lights
3 roundabouts · 9 turns · 2 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 19 turns · 1 set of lights
1 roundabout · 16 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 30.2 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Barnet test centre, not an official DVSA route.