Near Bishop's Stortford test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 9 roundabouts, 12 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 30.4 km practice loop near Bishop's Stortford test centre, taking roughly 35 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 Bishop's Park Way, Hadham Road, Great Hadham Road Roundabout and Whittington Way. 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, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, 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 churches, schools, stations and pubs, 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 86-step drive on real, named roads (about 30.4 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. Continue on B1529.
B15291.3 km
Turn left onto High Street/B1004. Continue on B1004.
B1004309 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Bells Hill.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bells Hill.
Bells Hill177 m
Turn left onto Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road533 m
Turn left onto Maple Avenue.
Maple Avenue351 m
Turn left onto Maze Green Road.
Maze Green Road530 m
Turn left onto Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road708 m
Turn left onto Dane Park.
Dane Park354 m
Turn right onto Maple Grove.
Maple Grove114 m
Turn right onto Marshbarns.
Marshbarns38 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Marshbarns.
Marshbarns38 m
Turn left to stay on Marshbarns.
Marshbarns114 m
Turn left onto Dane Park.
Dane Park354 m
Turn right onto Hadham Road/A1250. Continue on A1250.
A12501.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A1250.
2 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 right onto South Street/B1529. Continue on B1529.
B1529590 m
Turn left onto 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 1st exit onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Bishop's Park Way129 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Bishop's Park Way432 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Bishop's Park Way818 m
Enter Great Hadham Road Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Great Hadham Road Roundabout128 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Bishop's Park Way825 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Bishop's Park Way436 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Park Way/A1184.
Bishop's Park Way125 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Hadham Road/A1250.
138 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road188 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hadham Road/A1250.
33 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hadham Road/A1250.
Hadham Road1.3 km
Turn right onto Bells Hill.
Bells Hill177 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Windhill/B1004.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Windhill/B1004. Continue on B1004.
B10041.1 km
Enter Great Hadham Road and take the 1st exit onto Villiers-sur-Marne Avenue.
Great Hadham Road12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Villiers-sur-Marne Avenue.
Villiers-sur-Marne Avenue212 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Villiers-sur-Marne Avenue.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Villiers-sur-Marne Avenue.
Villiers-sur-Marne Avenue1.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Whittington Way.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Whittington Way.
Whittington Way451 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bishop's Avenue.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop's Avenue.
Bishop's Avenue437 m
Turn left onto Twyford Gardens.
Twyford Gardens93 m
Turn left onto Mary Park Gardens.
Mary Park Gardens187 m
Turn right onto Bishop's Avenue.
Bishop's Avenue225 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Whittington Way.
52 m
Exit the roundabout onto Whittington Way.
Whittington Way448 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Whittington Way.
78 m
Exit the roundabout onto Whittington Way.
Whittington Way451 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Whittington Way.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Whittington Way.
Whittington Way198 m
Turn left onto London Road/B1383.
London Road842 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto London Road/B1383.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/B1383.
London Road570 m
Turn right onto Hallingbury Road/A1060.
Hallingbury Road1.8 km
Turn right onto Pig Lane.
Pig Lane961 m
Turn right onto London Road/B1383.
London Road620 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto London Road/B1383.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/B1383.
London Road570 m
Turn right onto Hallingbury Road/A1060.
Hallingbury Road418 m
Turn left onto Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane210 m
Turn left onto Dimsdale Crescent.
Dimsdale Crescent406 m
Turn right onto Beldams Lane.
Beldams Lane405 m
Turn right onto Hallingbury Road/A1060.
Hallingbury Road418 m
Turn left onto London Road/B1383.
London Road574 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto London Road/B1383.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/B1383.
London Road570 m
Turn left onto London Road/A1060.
London Road569 m
Turn left onto Hockerill Street/A1250. Continue on A1250.
A1250207 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Dane Street.
2 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 9 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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Great Hadham Road Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 30, 60, 70 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.
St Joseph and the English Martyrs
Start near St Joseph and the English Martyrs.
St Michael's
Continue to St Michael's.
Cloisters
Continue to Cloisters.
Robert Pearce House
Continue to Robert Pearce House.
Bishop's Stortford
Continue to Bishop's Stortford.
Charis Centre (Community Church Bishops Stortford)
Continue to Charis Centre (Community Church Bishops Stortford).
Half Moon
Continue to Half Moon.
Rose & Crown
Continue to Rose & Crown.
Bishop's Stortford Fire Station
Continue to Bishop's Stortford Fire Station.
Bishop's Park Way
Continue to Bishop's Park Way, taking the junction with good observation.
Hadham Road
Continue to Hadham Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Great Hadham Road Roundabout
Continue to Great Hadham Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Continue to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School.
St Joseph’s Pre-School
Continue to St Joseph’s Pre-School.
Marne Inn
Continue to Marne Inn.
Whittington Way
Continue to Whittington Way, taking the junction with good observation.
Dawn's Food Store
Continue to Dawn's Food Store.
Cock Inn
Continue to Cock Inn.
Three Tuns
Continue to Three Tuns.
Jolly Brewers
Finish back near Jolly Brewers, completing the loop.
11 roundabouts · 14 turns · 3 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 8 turns · 6 sets of lights
10 roundabouts · 13 turns · 4 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 15 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 30.4 km and takes about 35 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.