Near Barry test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 24 roundabouts and 21 turns across 62 navigation steps.
This is an independent 16.8 km practice loop near Barry test centre, taking roughly 21 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.
Along the way you'll meet Waycock Cross. Knowing the approach, lane and exit at each one before you arrive is the difference between a planned manoeuvre and a last-second reaction, and last-second reactions are where avoidable faults come from.
On this route you’ll practise 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, stations and named junctions, 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 Barry 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:
The full 62-step drive on real, named roads (about 17.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive north on Hood Road.
Hood Road63 m
Turn right to stay on Hood Road.
Hood Road98 m
Turn right to stay on Hood Road.
Hood Road50 m
Keep right to stay on Hood Road.
Hood Road107 m
Turn left onto Ffordd Y Mileniwm.
Ffordd Y Mileniwm128 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd Y Mileniwm.
Ffordd Y Mileniwm185 m
Move left onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm40 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm171 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm250 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm55 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm341 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
34 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm762 m
Keep left to stay on Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm110 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm114 m
Keep right to stay on Ffordd y Mileniwm.
Ffordd y Mileniwm208 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cardiff Road/A4055.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cardiff Road/A4055.
Cardiff Road1.1 km
Keep right to stay on Cardiff Road/A4055.
Cardiff Road453 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Barry Road/A4055.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barry Road/A4055.
Barry Road125 m
Keep left to stay on Barry Road/A4055.
Barry Road1.1 km
Make a right U-turn to stay on Barry Road/A4055.
Barry Road1.1 km
Keep right to stay on Barry Road/A4055.
Barry Road106 m
Keep right to stay on Barry Road/A4055.
Barry Road52 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Barry Docks Link Road/A4231.
55 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barry Docks Link Road/A4231.
Barry Docks Link Road1.0 km
Keep left to stay on Barry Docks Link Road/A4231.
Barry Docks Link Road108 m
Keep left to stay on Barry Docks Link Road/A4231.
Barry Docks Link Road799 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Barry Docks Link Road/A4231.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barry Docks Link Road/A4231.
Barry Docks Link Road700 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Port Road/A4050.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Port Road/A4050.
Port Road789 m
Keep left to stay on A4050.
A40501.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Port Road West/A4226.
53 m
Exit the roundabout onto Port Road West/A4226.
Port Road West1.5 km
Enter Waycock Cross and take the 1st exit onto Pontypridd Road/B4266.
Waycock Cross4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pontypridd Road/B4266.
Pontypridd Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Claude Road West.
Claude Road West80 m
Keep right to stay on Claude Road West.
Claude Road West282 m
Turn right onto Claude Road.
Claude Road35 m
Move right onto Bedlington Terrace.
Bedlington Terrace40 m
Turn left.
26 m
Turn left onto Claude Road.
Claude Road77 m
Turn left onto Claude Road West.
Claude Road West363 m
Turn left onto Pontypridd Road/B4266.
Pontypridd Road121 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Park Crescent/A4050.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto Park Crescent/A4050.
Park Crescent75 m
Turn left onto Romilly Road.
Romilly Road282 m
Turn left onto Porthkerry Road.
Porthkerry Road13 m
Turn right onto Romilly Road.
Romilly Road181 m
Turn left onto Canon Street.
Canon Street72 m
Turn left onto Broad Street/A4055.
Broad Street271 m
Turn right onto Island Road.
Island Road127 m
Turn left onto Hood Road.
Hood Road257 m
Turn left to stay on Hood Road.
Hood Road77 m
Turn left to stay on Hood Road.
Hood Road98 m
Turn left to stay on Hood Road.
Hood Road63 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Barry · Residential + A-road practice loop 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.
Decide your lane and exit on the approach to each of these, get set up early.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Local junctions
Take each junction on its merits, good observation, clear signalling and the right speed on approach. Rehearse the sequence so nothing surprises you on the day.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Brewers Fayre
Start near Brewers Fayre.
Burger King
Continue to Burger King.
Barry Transport Interchange
Continue to Barry Transport Interchange.
Barry Docks
Continue to Barry Docks.
Howdens Joinery
Continue to Howdens Joinery.
Topps Tiles
Continue to Topps Tiles.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
PW Miller
Continue to PW Miller.
Co-op Food
Continue to Co-op Food.
Waycock Cross
Continue to Waycock Cross, taking the junction with good observation.
Demon Barber
Continue to Demon Barber.
My Favourite Pet
Continue to My Favourite Pet.
Polish me Pretty by Heidi
Continue to Polish me Pretty by Heidi.
Gary Watson Motor Company
Continue to Gary Watson Motor Company.
Sir Samuel Romilly
Continue to Sir Samuel Romilly.
Bar Cocoa
Continue to Bar Cocoa.
Gordon Bennett
Continue to Gordon Bennett.
Ten11
Continue to Ten11.
297 Bar
Continue to 297 Bar.
Craft Republic
Finish back near Craft Republic, completing the loop.
42 roundabouts · 16 turns
26 roundabouts · 11 turns
14 roundabouts · 24 turns
14 roundabouts · 23 turns
This route is 16.8 km and takes about 21 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Barry test centre, not an official DVSA route.