Near Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 13 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 38.5 km practice loop near Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) 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.
Along the way you'll meet Tyburn House Island. 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, 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 churches, stations, schools and shops, 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 (Sutton Coldfield) 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 83-step drive on real, named roads (about 38.5 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
21 m
Turn right onto Boldmere Road/B4142.
Boldmere Road619 m
Turn right onto Church Road.
Church Road311 m
Turn right onto Warden Avenue.
Warden Avenue217 m
Turn right onto Browns Drive.
Browns Drive157 m
Turn right to stay on Browns Drive.
Browns Drive178 m
Turn left onto Church Road.
Church Road490 m
Turn left onto Buxton Road.
Buxton Road148 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road202 m
Turn right onto Sunnybank Road.
Sunnybank Road356 m
Turn right onto Buxton Road.
Buxton Road109 m
Turn right onto New Church Road.
New Church Road145 m
Turn left onto Sunnybank Road.
Sunnybank Road146 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road205 m
Turn right onto The Boulevard.
The Boulevard773 m
Turn left onto Green Lanes.
Green Lanes894 m
Turn right onto Birmingham Road/A5127. Continue on A5127.
A51271.5 km
Turn left onto A452/Chester Road.
A452318 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A4521.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
42 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452560 m
Enter Tyburn House Island and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
Tyburn House Island61 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452592 m
Enter Spitfire Island and take the 4th exit onto A452/Chester Road.
Spitfire Island250 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452256 m
Keep left to stay on A452/Chester Road.
A452339 m
Enter Tyburn House Island and take the 3rd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
Tyburn House Island65 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452558 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A4521.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452321 m
Turn left onto Sutton Road/A5127.
Sutton Road495 m
Turn right onto Wilmot Drive.
Wilmot Drive78 m
Turn left onto Sir Benjamin Stone Way.
Sir Benjamin Stone Way301 m
Turn left onto Sutton Road/A5127. Continue on A5127.
A5127923 m
Turn right onto Penns Lane/B4148.
Penns Lane1.0 km
Turn left.
85 m
Turn right onto Penns Lane/B4148.
Penns Lane714 m
Turn left onto Orphanage Road.
Orphanage Road548 m
Enter Chester Road and take the 2nd exit onto Orphanage Road.
Chester Road50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Orphanage Road.
Orphanage Road545 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Orphanage Road.
50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Orphanage Road.
Orphanage Road545 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
65 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A4521.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
42 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452560 m
Enter Tyburn House Island and take the 2nd exit onto A452/Chester Road.
Tyburn House Island61 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452592 m
Enter Spitfire Island and take the 4th exit onto A452/Chester Road.
Spitfire Island250 m
Exit the roundabout onto A452/Chester Road.
A452256 m
Keep left to stay on A452/Chester Road.
A452279 m
Take the exit.
A382.6 km
Make a right U-turn at Bromford Lane/A4040 onto A38/Tyburn Road.
A381.2 km
Turn left onto Kingsbury Road.
Kingsbury Road10 m
Turn right onto Tyburn Road/B4148.
Tyburn Road361 m
Turn left onto Paget Road.
Paget Road87 m
Turn right onto Kingsbury Avenue.
Kingsbury Avenue105 m
Turn right onto Pype Hayes Road.
Pype Hayes Road107 m
Turn right onto Tyburn Road/B4148.
Tyburn Road346 m
Turn right onto Kingsbury Road.
Kingsbury Road295 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Holly Lane.
70 m
Exit the roundabout onto Holly Lane.
Holly Lane1.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Orphanage Road.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Orphanage Road.
Orphanage Road404 m
Turn left onto Silver Birch Road.
Silver Birch Road316 m
Turn left onto Sutton Road/A5127. Continue on A5127.
A5127687 m
Turn left onto Edwards Road.
Edwards Road106 m
Turn right onto Orphanage Road.
Orphanage Road9 m
Turn left onto Edwards Road.
Edwards Road232 m
Turn left onto Holliday Road.
Holliday Road198 m
Turn left onto Orchard Road.
Orchard Road486 m
Turn right onto Sutton Road/A5127. Continue on A5127.
A51272.2 km
Turn left onto Station Road.
Station Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Boldmere Road/B4142. Continue on B4142.
B41421.8 km
Turn left onto Station Road/B4531.
Station Road57 m
Turn left onto Johnson Road.
Johnson Road118 m
Turn left onto Dean Road.
Dean Road241 m
Turn left onto Oliver Road.
Oliver Road85 m
Turn right onto Gravelly Lane/B4142. Continue on B4142.
B41421.8 km
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) · Route 3 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.
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 14.0 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.
Boldmere Methodist Church
Start near Boldmere Methodist Church.
St Michaels Church Boldmere
Continue to St Michaels Church Boldmere.
Wylde Green
Continue to Wylde Green.
Butterfly Day Nursery
Continue to Butterfly Day Nursery.
Emmanuel, Parish Church of Wylde Green
Continue to Emmanuel, Parish Church of Wylde Green.
Chester Road News
Continue to Chester Road News.
William Hill
Continue to William Hill.
Tyburn House
Continue to Tyburn House.
Tyburn House Island
Continue to Tyburn House Island, taking the junction with good observation.
Pype Hayes United Reformed Church
Continue to Pype Hayes United Reformed Church.
Reynolds Blinds
Continue to Reynolds Blinds.
Erdington United Reformed Church
Continue to Erdington United Reformed Church.
KFC
Continue to KFC.
Audi Approved Erdington
Continue to Audi Approved Erdington.
Birches Green Evangelical Free Church
Continue to Birches Green Evangelical Free Church.
Perfect Pizza
Continue to Perfect Pizza.
Church of St Thomas and St Edmund of Canterbury, Erdington Abbey
Continue to Church of St Thomas and St Edmund of Canterbury, Erdington Abbey.
Chester Road Baptist Church
Continue to Chester Road Baptist Church.
Rose & Crown
Continue to Rose & Crown.
Boldmere Oak
Finish back near Boldmere Oak, completing the loop.
3 roundabouts · 13 turns · 6 sets of lights
6 roundabouts · 10 turns · 4 sets of lights
4 roundabouts · 8 turns · 3 sets of lights
3 roundabouts · 16 turns · 5 sets of lights
This route is 38.5 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Birmingham (Sutton Coldfield) test centre, not an official DVSA route.