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Practice route
ChallengingLoop

Barrow In Furness · Route 6

Near Barrow In Furness test centre

22.9 km
Distance
25 min
Duration
Challenging
Difficulty
19
Manoeuvres
Difficulty: Easy

Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts and 14 turns across 19 navigation steps.

How this route is examined

This is an independent 22.9 km practice loop near Barrow In Furness 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, dual-carriageway joins, 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 pubs, shops, schools 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 Barrow In Furness 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.

Manoeuvre breakdown

What you’ll actually do on this loop, counted from its turn-by-turn directions.

8
Left turns
6
Right turns
2
Roundabouts
0
Traffic lights
19
Total steps

Skills & features

5
Roundabouts
0.9 km
Dual carriageway
20, 30, 40 mph
Speed limits
20
Landmarks

This route helps you practise:

  • Multiple roundabouts
  • Dual-carriageway joins
  • 20 mph zones
  • Changing speed limits
  • Residential manoeuvres
  • Busy A-roads
  • Independent driving
  • Sustained concentration

Road mix

  • Minor roads 13.1 km
  • Residential 4.3 km
  • A-roads 3.6 km
  • Trunk roads 0.9 km
  • service_other 0.5 km
  • Unclassified 0.3 km

Turn-by-turn directions

The full 55-step drive on real, named roads (about 22.8 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.

  1. Depart:

    Drive northwest.

    42 m

  2. Turn right:

    Turn right.

    23 m

  3. Turn left:

    Turn left onto James Freel Close.

    James Freel Close166 m

  4. Turn right:

    Turn right to stay on James Freel Close.

    James Freel Close1 m

  5. U-turn:

    Make a right U-turn to stay on James Freel Close.

    James Freel Close1 m

  6. Turn left:

    Turn left to stay on James Freel Close.

    James Freel Close247 m

  7. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Ironworks Road/A590.

    Ironworks Road206 m

  8. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Walney Road/A590. Continue on A590.

    A590632 m

  9. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto North Road/A590.

    28 m

  10. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto North Road/A590.

    North Road72 m

  11. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Ironworks Road/A590.

    Ironworks Road924 m

  12. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Phoenix Road.

    Phoenix Road626 m

  13. Turn right:

    Turn right onto A590/Walney Road.

    A590636 m

  14. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Duke Street.

    Duke Street613 m

  15. Turn left:

    Move left onto Ramsden Square.

    Ramsden Square23 m

  16. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ramsden Square.

    15 m

  17. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Ramsden Square.

    Ramsden Square23 m

  18. Turn left:

    Move left onto Abbey Road.

    Abbey Road2.9 km

  19. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Rating Lane.

    Rating Lane1.3 km

  20. Turn left:

    Move left onto Flass Lane.

    Flass Lane481 m

  21. Turn right:

    Move right onto Friars Lane.

    Friars Lane161 m

  22. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Bridgegate Avenue.

    Bridgegate Avenue729 m

  23. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Park Drive.

    Park Drive32 m

  24. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Greengate Street.

    Greengate Street750 m

  25. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Rawlinson Street.

    Rawlinson Street398 m

  26. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Buccleuch Street.

    Buccleuch Street313 m

  27. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Dalkeith Street.

    Dalkeith Street114 m

  28. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Preston Street.

    Preston Street148 m

  29. U-turn:

    Make a right U-turn to stay on Preston Street.

    Preston Street148 m

  30. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Dalkeith Street.

    Dalkeith Street249 m

  31. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Abbey Road.

    Abbey Road2.2 km

  32. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Dane Avenue.

    Dane Avenue728 m

  33. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Dalton Lane.

    Dalton Lane22 m

  34. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Whinlatter Drive.

    Whinlatter Drive460 m

  35. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Keswick Avenue.

    Keswick Avenue266 m

  36. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Dunmail Raise.

    Dunmail Raise330 m

  37. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Kirkstone Crescent.

    Kirkstone Crescent364 m

  38. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Dunmail Raise.

    Dunmail Raise228 m

  39. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Keswick Avenue.

    Keswick Avenue131 m

  40. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Crummock Drive.

    Crummock Drive62 m

  41. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Windermere Avenue.

    Windermere Avenue218 m

  42. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Keswick Avenue.

    Keswick Avenue91 m

  43. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Rakesmoor Lane.

    Rakesmoor Lane1.4 km

  44. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Oxford Street.

    Oxford Street190 m

  45. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Oxford Street.

    25 m

  46. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Oxford Street.

    Oxford Street834 m

  47. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Ainslie Street.

    Ainslie Street462 m

  48. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Devonshire Road.

    4 m

  49. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Devonshire Road.

    Devonshire Road575 m

  50. Turn left:

    Turn left onto A590/Walney Road. Continue on A590.

    A5901.1 km

  51. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto North Road/A590.

    28 m

  52. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto North Road/A590.

    North Road72 m

  53. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Ironworks Road/A590.

    Ironworks Road858 m

  54. Turn left:

    Turn left onto James Freel Close.

    James Freel Close146 m

  55. Arrive:

    You have arrived at your destination.

Directions for the Barrow In Furness · Route 6 loop. Always drive to the road and conditions you see, not the list — signs, signals and other traffic take priority.

Local roads & landmarks

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.

Schools

Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.

  • Furness College - The Copper Box
  • iBox
  • Greengate Junior School
  • Victoria Infant and Nursery School

Churches

Useful navigation anchors on the loop.

  • Our Lady of Furness St Mary's
  • Abbey Road Baptist Church
  • St Paul
  • St Mark

Parks & green space

Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.

  • Hindpool Urban Park

Pubs

Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.

  • Brewers Fayre
  • Furness Railway
  • Strawberry
  • Last Orders

Shops & parades

Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.

  • McDonald's
  • Grange Bakery
  • Paul French
  • Co-operative Food

Watch out for

  • Multiple roundabouts

    Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.

  • Dual-carriageway join

    About 0.9 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 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.

Drive it: landmark by landmark

Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.

  1. Brewers Fayre

    Start near Brewers Fayre.

  2. McDonald's

    Continue to McDonald's.

  3. Furness College - The Copper Box

    Continue to Furness College - The Copper Box.

  4. iBox

    Continue to iBox.

  5. Hindpool Urban Park

    Continue to Hindpool Urban Park.

  6. Our Lady of Furness St Mary's

    Continue to Our Lady of Furness St Mary's.

  7. Abbey Road Baptist Church

    Continue to Abbey Road Baptist Church.

  8. Furness Railway

    Continue to Furness Railway.

  9. St Paul

    Continue to St Paul.

  10. Strawberry

    Continue to Strawberry.

  11. Greengate Junior School

    Continue to Greengate Junior School.

  12. Last Orders

    Continue to Last Orders.

  13. St Mark

    Continue to St Mark.

  14. Tailors

    Continue to Tailors.

  15. Grange Bakery

    Continue to Grange Bakery.

  16. Paul French

    Continue to Paul French.

  17. Co-operative Food

    Continue to Co-operative Food.

  18. Victoria Infant and Nursery School

    Continue to Victoria Infant and Nursery School.

  19. Soccer Bar

    Continue to Soccer Bar.

  20. Tally Ho

    Finish back near Tally Ho, completing the loop.

More routes at Barrow In Furness test centre

Route FAQs

This route is 22.9 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Barrow In Furness test centre, not an official DVSA route.