Near Barrow In Furness test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 13 turns and 1 signalled junction across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 37.1 km practice loop near Barrow In Furness 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, dual-carriageway joins, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads and independent driving. 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 schools, shops, pubs 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 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.
What you’ll actually do on this loop, counted from its turn-by-turn directions.
This route helps you practise:
Road mix
The full 92-step drive on real, named roads (about 37.1 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northwest.
42 m
Turn right.
23 m
Turn left onto James Freel Close.
James Freel Close166 m
Turn right to stay on James Freel Close.
James Freel Close1 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on James Freel Close.
James Freel Close1 m
Turn left to stay on James Freel Close.
James Freel Close247 m
Turn left onto Ironworks Road/A590.
Ironworks Road206 m
Turn right onto Walney Road/A590. Continue on A590.
A590632 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto North Road/A590.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto North Road/A590.
North Road72 m
Turn right onto Ironworks Road/A590.
Ironworks Road583 m
Turn right onto Ashburner Way.
Ashburner Way103 m
Turn left.
100 m
Turn right onto Ashburner Way.
Ashburner Way166 m
Turn right onto Ironworks Road/A590.
Ironworks Road481 m
Turn left onto A590/Walney Road.
A590494 m
Turn left onto Phoenix Road.
Phoenix Road625 m
Turn left onto Ironworks Road/A590.
Ironworks Road140 m
Turn right onto Walney Road/A590.
Walney Road136 m
Turn left onto Duke Street.
Duke Street613 m
Move left onto Ramsden Square.
Ramsden Square23 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ramsden Square.
51 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ramsden Square.
Ramsden Square23 m
Move left onto Duke Street.
Duke Street53 m
Turn left onto Buccleuch Street.
Buccleuch Street163 m
Turn left onto Dalkeith Street.
Dalkeith Street135 m
Turn right onto Abbey Road.
Abbey Road2.6 km
Turn right onto Leith Flat Brow.
Leith Flat Brow166 m
Turn left onto Rating Lane.
Rating Lane130 m
Turn left onto Abbey Road.
Abbey Road605 m
Turn right onto Dane Avenue.
Dane Avenue96 m
Turn left onto Wheatclose Road.
Wheatclose Road1.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Devonshire Road.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road289 m
Turn left onto Holker Street.
Holker Street512 m
Turn right onto Dundas Street.
Dundas Street150 m
Turn right onto Wordsworth Street.
Wordsworth Street37 m
Turn right onto Blake Street.
Blake Street150 m
Turn left onto Holker Street.
Holker Street476 m
Turn right onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road288 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Devonshire Road.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road563 m
Turn right onto Victoria Avenue.
Victoria Avenue217 m
Turn right onto Harrogate Street.
Harrogate Street463 m
Turn right onto Ainslie Street.
Ainslie Street86 m
Turn left onto Dorset Street.
Dorset Street54 m
Turn left onto Westmorland Street.
Westmorland Street127 m
Turn left onto Rutland Street.
Rutland Street54 m
Turn left onto Ainslie Street.
Ainslie Street42 m
Turn right onto Harrogate Street.
Harrogate Street393 m
Turn left onto Victoria Road.
Victoria Road52 m
Turn left onto Princess Street.
Princess Street152 m
Turn right onto Highfield Road.
Highfield Road133 m
Turn right onto South View.
South View203 m
Turn right onto Victoria Avenue.
Victoria Avenue210 m
Turn left onto Oxford Street.
Oxford Street363 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Oxford Street.
22 m
Exit the roundabout onto Oxford Street.
Oxford Street190 m
Turn left onto Hawcoat Lane.
Hawcoat Lane593 m
Turn left onto Undergreens Road.
Undergreens Road393 m
Turn right onto Hawcoat Lane.
Hawcoat Lane843 m
Turn right onto Abbey Road.
Abbey Road874 m
Turn left onto Park Drive.
Park Drive826 m
Turn right onto Greengate Street.
Greengate Street750 m
Turn right onto Rawlinson Street.
Rawlinson Street398 m
Turn left onto Buccleuch Street.
Buccleuch Street313 m
Turn left onto Dalkeith Street.
Dalkeith Street114 m
Turn left onto Preston Street.
Preston Street148 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Preston Street.
Preston Street148 m
Turn right onto Dalkeith Street.
Dalkeith Street249 m
Turn right onto Abbey Road.
Abbey Road3.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Park Road.
2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Park Road.
Park Road1.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A590/Park Road.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto A590/Park Road. Continue on A590.
A5903.3 km
Turn left.
67 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road471 m
Turn right onto Millstone Avenue.
Millstone Avenue138 m
Turn right onto Middlefield.
Middlefield226 m
Turn right onto Mill Bank.
Mill Bank208 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road177 m
Turn right.
53 m
Turn left onto A590/Walney Road.
A5901.9 km
Turn right onto Ashburner Way.
Ashburner Way197 m
Turn right onto Ironworks Road/A590.
Ironworks Road341 m
Turn left onto Phoenix Road.
Phoenix Road626 m
Turn right onto A590/Walney Road. Continue on A590.
A5901.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto North Road/A590.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto North Road/A590.
North Road72 m
Turn right onto Ironworks Road/A590.
Ironworks Road858 m
Turn left onto James Freel Close.
James Freel Close146 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barrow In Furness · Route 9 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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 5.7 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, 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.
Furness College - The Copper Box
Start near Furness College - The Copper Box.
iBox
Continue to iBox.
JD Car Sales
Continue to JD Car Sales.
Travis Perkins
Continue to Travis Perkins.
Furness Railway
Continue to Furness Railway.
Our Lady of Furness St Mary's
Continue to Our Lady of Furness St Mary's.
Kwik-Fit
Continue to Kwik-Fit.
Strawberry
Continue to Strawberry.
Barrow & District Car Repairs
Continue to Barrow & District Car Repairs.
Tally Ho
Continue to Tally Ho.
Co-operative Food
Continue to Co-operative Food.
St Matthew's Church
Continue to St Matthew's Church.
Victoria Infant and Nursery School
Continue to Victoria Infant and Nursery School.
St Paul
Continue to St Paul.
Abbey Road Baptist Church
Continue to Abbey Road Baptist Church.
Greengate Junior School
Continue to Greengate Junior School.
St Mark
Continue to St Mark.
Superdrug
Continue to Superdrug.
Wolseley
Continue to Wolseley.
Soccer Bar
Finish back near Soccer Bar, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 17 turns · 1 set of lights
5 roundabouts · 14 turns · 2 sets of lights
5 roundabouts · 14 turns · 2 sets of lights
4 roundabouts · 12 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 37.1 km and takes about 30 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.