Near Bishop's Stortford test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts, 8 turns and 6 signalled junctions across 19 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.1 km practice loop near Bishop's Stortford 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 Dunmow Road and Hadham Road. 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, 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 churches, pubs, shops 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 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 85-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.8 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. Continue on B1529.
B1529415 m
Keep right to stay on B1529.
B1529927 m
Turn right onto Barrett Lane.
Barrett Lane71 m
Turn right onto Water Lane.
Water Lane89 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street131 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 1st exit onto A1250.
5 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1250.
A1250206 m
Turn left onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road367 m
Turn right onto Foxley Drive.
Foxley Drive9 m
Turn left onto Stansted Road.
Stansted Road225 m
Turn left onto Foxley Drive.
Foxley Drive18 m
Turn right onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road293 m
Turn left onto Cannons Close.
Cannons Close223 m
Turn right to stay on Cannons Close.
Cannons Close85 m
Turn right to stay on Cannons Close.
Cannons Close161 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Cannons Close.
Cannons Close161 m
Turn left to stay on Cannons Close.
Cannons Close85 m
Turn left to stay on Cannons Close.
Cannons Close223 m
Turn right onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road523 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 right onto Stansted Road/B1383.
Stansted Road163 m
Turn right onto Parsonage Lane.
Parsonage Lane311 m
Keep left to stay on Parsonage Lane.
Parsonage Lane326 m
Keep right to stay on Parsonage Lane.
Parsonage Lane52 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 Row526 m
Keep right to stay on Heath Row.
Heath Row490 m
Keep right to stay on Heath Row.
Heath Row108 m
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 Road1.7 km
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.
A1250511 m
Keep right to take Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road1.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hadham Road/A1250.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road190 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
135 m
Exit the roundabout onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A1203.3 km
Keep right to stay on A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A120314 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
95 m
Exit the roundabout onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A1201.8 km
Keep right to stay on A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A120146 m
Continue on Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road23 m
Move left to stay on Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road12 m
Move right onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A120266 m
Enter Birchanger Green Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A120.
Birchanger Green Roundabout175 m
Exit the roundabout onto A120.
A12069 m
Move left onto Dunmow Road/B1256.
Dunmow Road746 m
Turn right onto Start Hill.
Start Hill426 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Start Hill.
Start Hill427 m
Turn left onto Dunmow Road/B1256.
Dunmow Road868 m
Enter Birchanger Green Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
Birchanger Green Roundabout242 m
Exit the roundabout onto A120/Bishop's Stortford Bypass.
A120275 m
Turn left onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road732 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road749 m
Make a right U-turn at Dunmow Road/A1250 to stay on Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road754 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dunmow Road/A1250.
Dunmow Road1.5 km
Turn left onto London Road/A1060. Continue on A1060.
A1060987 m
Turn left onto Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane129 m
Keep right to stay on Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane80 m
Turn left onto Dimsdale Crescent.
Dimsdale Crescent199 m
Keep left to stay on Dimsdale Crescent.
Dimsdale Crescent206 m
Turn right onto Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane101 m
Keep left to stay on Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane110 m
Keep left to stay on Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane192 m
Turn right onto Hallingbury Road/A1060.
Hallingbury Road418 m
Turn left onto London Road/B1383.
London Road220 m
Keep right to stay on London Road/B1383.
London Road353 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto South Road/B1529.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto South Road/B1529.
South Road192 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Bishop's Stortford · Route 12 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 7.0 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.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 30, 40, 50, 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.
Bishop's Stortford Methodist Church
Start near Bishop's Stortford Methodist Church.
Dog's Head
Continue to Dog's Head.
Holy Trinity Church
Continue to Holy Trinity Church.
All Saints
Continue to All Saints.
Jade House
Continue to Jade House.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
Dunmow Road
Continue to Dunmow Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Nag's Head
Continue to Nag's Head.
ATS Euromaster
Continue to ATS Euromaster.
Cock Inn
Continue to Cock Inn.
Half Moon
Continue to Half Moon.
Young House
Continue to Young House.
Bishop's Stortford Fire Station
Continue to Bishop's Stortford Fire Station.
Hadham Road
Continue to Hadham Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Audi Stansted
Continue to Audi Stansted.
Motus Truck & Van Mercedes-Benz Stansted
Continue to Motus Truck & Van Mercedes-Benz Stansted.
Bishop's Stortford Padel Club
Continue to Bishop's Stortford Padel Club.
Bishop's Stortford
Continue to Bishop's Stortford.
Three Tuns
Continue to Three Tuns.
Little Waitrose
Finish back near Little Waitrose, completing the loop.
11 roundabouts · 14 turns · 3 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 12 turns · 5 sets of lights
10 roundabouts · 13 turns · 4 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 15 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 27.1 km and takes about 30 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.