Near Bishop's Stortford test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 13 turns and 4 signalled junctions across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 26.4 km practice loop near Bishop's Stortford 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 Haymeads 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, 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 stations, pubs, named junctions 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 Bishop's Stortford 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 63-step drive on real, named roads (about 26.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west.
13 m
Turn right onto South Road/B1529.
South Road387 m
Turn right onto Southmill Road.
Southmill Road454 m
Turn left onto London Road/B1383.
London Road439 m
Turn left onto London Road/A1060.
London Road569 m
Turn right onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road796 m
Turn right onto Haymeads Lane.
Haymeads Lane151 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Haymeads Lane.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Haymeads Lane.
Haymeads Lane151 m
Turn left onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road597 m
Turn right onto Manor Road.
Manor Road292 m
Turn right onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road586 m
Turn right onto Parsonage Lane.
Parsonage Lane691 m
Turn left onto Heath Row.
Heath Row117 m
Turn left to stay on Heath Row.
Heath Row64 m
Turn right to stay on Heath Row.
Heath Row1.0 km
Turn left onto Manston Drive.
Manston Drive400 m
Turn left onto Rochford Road.
Rochford Road541 m
Turn left onto Manston Drive.
Manston Drive362 m
Turn left onto Heath Row.
Heath Row1.0 km
Turn left onto Manston Drive.
Manston Drive488 m
Turn left onto Heath Row.
Heath Row1.1 km
Turn left onto Parsonage Lane.
Parsonage Lane877 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road1.5 km
Turn right onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road2.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Stansted Road/B1383.
76 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road537 m
Turn right onto Birchanger Lane.
Birchanger Lane1.5 km
Turn left to stay on Birchanger Lane.
Birchanger Lane37 m
Turn right to stay on Birchanger Lane.
Birchanger Lane944 m
Turn right onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A12041 m
Turn left onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road745 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Parsonage Lane.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parsonage Lane.
Parsonage Lane1.1 km
Turn left onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road393 m
Turn left onto Foxley Drive.
Foxley Drive9 m
Turn left onto Stansted Road.
Stansted Road225 m
Turn left onto Foxley Drive.
Foxley Drive18 m
Turn left onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road597 m
Turn right onto Hockerill Street/A1250. Continue on A1250.
A1250207 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1250.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1250.
A1250197 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Link Road/A1250.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Link Road/A1250. Continue on A1250.
A12501.3 km
Turn left onto Maple Avenue.
Maple Avenue351 m
Turn left onto Maze Green Road.
Maze Green Road530 m
Turn right onto Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road157 m
Turn right onto Bells Hill.
Bells Hill177 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Windhill/B1004.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Windhill/B1004.
B1004489 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1250.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1250.
A1250193 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A1250.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1250.
A1250197 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A1250.
34 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1250.
A1250193 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Dane Street.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dane Street.
Dane Street155 m
Keep right to stay on Dane Street.
Dane Street75 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road230 m
Turn left onto South Street/B1529. Continue on B1529.
B1529757 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Bishop's Stortford · Route 10 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.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (30, 40, 50 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.
Bishop's Stortford
Start near Bishop's Stortford.
Three Tuns
Continue to Three Tuns.
Haymeads Lane
Continue to Haymeads Lane, taking the junction with good observation.
All Saints
Continue to All Saints.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
Nag's Head
Continue to Nag's Head.
Shell Select
Continue to Shell Select.
Magnet
Continue to Magnet.
Three Willows
Continue to Three Willows.
Bishop's Stortford Padel Club
Continue to Bishop's Stortford Padel Club.
Barringtons
Continue to Barringtons.
Half Moon
Continue to Half Moon.
Paisá
Continue to Paisá.
Headmaster's Office & Bursary
Continue to Headmaster's Office & Bursary.
Young House
Continue to Young House.
St Joseph and the English Martyrs
Continue to St Joseph and the English Martyrs.
St Michael's
Continue to St Michael's.
Bridge House
Continue to Bridge House.
Rose & Crown
Continue to Rose & Crown.
Holy Trinity Church
Finish back near Holy Trinity Church, completing the loop.
11 roundabouts · 14 turns · 3 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 12 turns · 5 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 8 turns · 6 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 15 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 26.4 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Bishop's Stortford test centre, not an official DVSA route.