Near Birmingham (South Yardley) test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 19 turns and 4 signalled junctions across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.3 km practice loop near Birmingham (South Yardley) test centre, taking roughly 40 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 Wash Lane. 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 multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, 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 pubs, schools, churches 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 Birmingham (South Yardley) 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 91-step drive on real, named roads (about 27.3 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive north on Clay Lane.
Clay Lane727 m
Turn left onto A45/Coventry Road.
A4595 m
Move left.
347 m
Enter Swan Island and take the 4th exit onto A45/Coventry Road.
Swan Island187 m
Exit the roundabout onto A45/Coventry Road.
A451.1 km
Take the exit on the right.
72 m
Turn right onto Gilbertstone Avenue.
Gilbertstone Avenue25 m
Keep right to stay on Gilbertstone Avenue.
Gilbertstone Avenue816 m
Turn right onto Clay Lane.
Clay Lane669 m
Turn left onto A45/Coventry Road.
A45922 m
Move right.
97 m
Turn right onto Holder Road.
Holder Road631 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Wash Lane.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wash Lane.
Wash Lane611 m
Turn left.
23 m
Turn right onto Millhouse Road.
Millhouse Road38 m
Make a sharp right onto Wash Lane.
Wash Lane531 m
Turn left onto Flavells Lane.
Flavells Lane674 m
Turn left onto Debenham Road.
Debenham Road182 m
Turn left onto Debenham Crescent.
Debenham Crescent186 m
Turn right onto Debenham Road.
Debenham Road210 m
Turn right onto Clements Road.
Clements Road143 m
Keep right to stay on Clements Road.
Clements Road130 m
Keep right to stay on Clements Road.
Clements Road104 m
Keep right to stay on Clements Road.
Clements Road72 m
Turn right onto Flavells Lane.
Flavells Lane97 m
Turn right onto Homelea Road.
Homelea Road634 m
Turn right onto Blakesley Road.
Blakesley Road99 m
Turn left onto Stuarts Road.
Stuarts Road563 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Manor Gardens.
Manor Gardens112 m
Turn right onto Levante Gardens.
Levante Gardens121 m
Turn right onto Bordesley Green East/B4128.
Bordesley Green East114 m
Keep left to stay on Bordesley Green East.
Bordesley Green East117 m
Keep left to stay on Bordesley Green East.
Bordesley Green East197 m
Turn right.
17 m
Turn left onto Bordesley Green East.
Bordesley Green East62 m
Turn right onto Bordeseley Green East.
Bordeseley Green East49 m
Turn left to stay on Bordeseley Green East.
Bordeseley Green East6 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Bordeseley Green East.
Bordeseley Green East6 m
Turn right to stay on Bordeseley Green East.
Bordeseley Green East49 m
Turn left onto Bordesley Green East.
Bordesley Green East62 m
Turn right.
17 m
Turn left onto Bordesley Green East.
Bordesley Green East188 m
Keep left to stay on Bordesley Green East.
Bordesley Green East57 m
Turn left onto Station Road/A4040. Continue on A4040.
A4040809 m
Turn left.
197 m
Move right onto Stoney Lane/A4040.
Stoney Lane78 m
Turn right onto Blakesley Road.
Blakesley Road231 m
Turn right onto Church Road.
Church Road707 m
Keep left to stay on Church Road.
Church Road42 m
Turn left onto Yew Tree Lane.
Yew Tree Lane740 m
Turn right.
29 m
Turn left onto A45/Coventry Road.
A45295 m
Take the exit on the right.
72 m
Make a sharp right onto A45/Coventry Road.
A451.6 km
Move right.
97 m
Turn right onto Holder Road.
Holder Road6 m
Turn right onto A45/Coventry Road. Continue on A45.
A452.6 km
Take the exit on the right.
Coventry Road140 m
Turn right onto Lyndon Road.
Lyndon Road214 m
Keep left to stay on Lyndon Road.
Lyndon Road17 m
Turn left onto Melton Avenue.
Melton Avenue599 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hobs Moat Road/B425.
47 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hobs Moat Road/B425.
Hobs Moat Road59 m
Turn left.
11 m
Turn right onto Hobs Moat Road.
Hobs Moat Road358 m
Turn right.
393 m
Turn right.
12 m
Turn right onto Hobs Moat Road/B425.
Hobs Moat Road797 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Melton Avenue.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Melton Avenue.
Melton Avenue11 m
Keep right to stay on Melton Avenue.
Melton Avenue223 m
Turn left onto Campden Green.
Campden Green10 m
Turn right onto Melton Avenue.
Melton Avenue349 m
Turn left to stay on Melton Avenue.
Melton Avenue17 m
Turn left onto Lyndon Road.
Lyndon Road293 m
Turn left onto Daylesford Road.
Daylesford Road387 m
Turn left onto Evenlode Road.
Evenlode Road296 m
Turn left onto Melton Avenue.
Melton Avenue467 m
Turn left onto Lyndon Road.
Lyndon Road1.1 km
Turn right onto Chapel Fields Road.
Chapel Fields Road238 m
Turn right onto Richmond Road.
Richmond Road556 m
Turn left onto Barn Lane.
Barn Lane223 m
Turn right onto Amberley Road.
Amberley Road252 m
Turn right onto Wagon Lane.
Wagon Lane202 m
Turn right onto Barn Lane.
Barn Lane50 m
Keep left to stay on Barn Lane.
Barn Lane519 m
Turn right onto Bosworth Road.
Bosworth Road326 m
Turn right onto Clay Lane.
Clay Lane199 m
Turn right to stay on Clay Lane.
Clay Lane302 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Birmingham (South Yardley) · Route 18 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.
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 6.5 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.
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.
New Inn
Start near New Inn.
EBN Academy
Continue to EBN Academy.
Old Bill and Bull
Continue to Old Bill and Bull.
South Yardley Methodist Church
Continue to South Yardley Methodist Church.
Wash Lane
Continue to Wash Lane, taking the junction with good observation.
Toybox Nursery
Continue to Toybox Nursery.
William Tyler
Continue to William Tyler.
St Michael and All Angels
Continue to St Michael and All Angels.
Yardley Baptist Church
Continue to Yardley Baptist Church.
Nisa
Continue to Nisa.
Chaps
Continue to Chaps.
Londis
Continue to Londis.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
Riley's Snooker
Continue to Riley's Snooker.
Lyndon Methodist Church
Continue to Lyndon Methodist Church.
Mucky Pups Day Nursery
Continue to Mucky Pups Day Nursery.
St Margaret's Pre-school at Chapelfields
Continue to St Margaret's Pre-school at Chapelfields.
Lyndon
Continue to Lyndon.
Acrewood Nursery & Pre-school
Continue to Acrewood Nursery & Pre-school.
Journey's End
Finish back near Journey's End, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 25 turns · 3 sets of lights
6 roundabouts · 18 turns · 3 sets of lights
10 roundabouts · 13 turns · 4 sets of lights
8 roundabouts · 17 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 27.3 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Birmingham (South Yardley) test centre, not an official DVSA route.