Near Bodmin test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts and 20 turns across 33 navigation steps.
This is an independent 40.6 km practice route near Bodmin test centre, taking roughly 45 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 Carminow Cross Junction, Turfdown Roundabout and Innis Downs Junction. 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 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, churches, stations 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 Bodmin 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 73-step drive on real, named roads (about 40.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
47 m
Turn right onto Beatrice Road.
Beatrice Road46 m
Turn right onto Normandy Way.
Normandy Way407 m
Turn left to stay on Normandy Way.
Normandy Way189 m
Turn right onto Lostwithiel Road/B3268. Continue on B3268.
B32681.1 km
Move left onto Turf Street/A389. Continue on A389.
A389346 m
Turn right onto Berrycoombe Road.
Berrycoombe Road15 m
Turn left to stay on Berrycoombe Road.
Berrycoombe Road500 m
Turn left onto Cardell Road.
Cardell Road238 m
Turn left onto Dennison Road/A389. Continue on A389.
A389713 m
Move right onto Turf Street/B3268. Continue on B3268.
B3268697 m
Move left onto Castle Canyke Road.
Castle Canyke Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Canyke Road.
Canyke Road696 m
Turn right onto A38.
A38617 m
Enter Carminow Cross Junction and take the 2nd exit onto Carminow Road.
Carminow Cross Junction97 m
Exit the roundabout onto Carminow Road.
Carminow Road119 m
Turn right onto Castle Canyke Road.
Castle Canyke Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Omaha Road.
Omaha Road93 m
Turn right to stay on Omaha Road.
Omaha Road97 m
Turn left to stay on Omaha Road.
Omaha Road99 m
Turn left onto Normandy Way.
Normandy Way172 m
Turn right to stay on Normandy Way.
Normandy Way407 m
Turn left onto Beatrice Road.
Beatrice Road203 m
Turn left onto Castle Canyke Road.
Castle Canyke Road200 m
Turn left onto Roman Drive.
Roman Drive70 m
Turn left to stay on Roman Drive.
Roman Drive43 m
Turn left to stay on Roman Drive.
Roman Drive42 m
Turn left to stay on Roman Drive.
Roman Drive1 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Roman Drive.
Roman Drive1 m
Turn right to stay on Roman Drive.
Roman Drive42 m
Turn left to stay on Roman Drive.
Roman Drive131 m
Turn left onto Beatrice Road.
Beatrice Road118 m
Turn right onto Castle Canyke Road.
Castle Canyke Road51 m
Turn left onto Canyke Road.
Canyke Road696 m
Turn right onto A38.
A38617 m
Enter Carminow Cross Junction and take the 2nd exit onto Carminow Road.
Carminow Cross Junction97 m
Exit the roundabout onto Carminow Road.
Carminow Road810 m
Turn right onto Respryn Road.
Respryn Road554 m
Move right onto Lostwithiel Road/B3268. Continue on B3268.
B32681.4 km
Turn right onto Priory Road/A389.
Priory Road513 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit towards Launceston/Law courts.
27 m
Exit the roundabout towards Launceston/Law courts.
Launceston Road1.0 km
Turn right onto A38/Cooksland Road.
A381.2 km
Turn left to stay on A38.
A38768 m
Enter Carminow Cross Junction and take the 1st exit onto A38.
Carminow Cross Junction6 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38.
A38504 m
Enter Turfdown Roundabout and take the 4th exit towards Redruth/Newquay/Bodmin/Launceston.
Turfdown Roundabout95 m
Exit the roundabout towards Redruth/Newquay/Bodmin/Launceston.
A3876 m
Take the Carminow Cross exit onto A30 towards Redruth/Newquay.
A306.6 km
Take the Innis Downs exit onto A389/A391 towards Wadebridge/St Austell.
A30629 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Innis Downs Junction/A389.
109 m
Exit the roundabout onto Innis Downs Junction/A389.
Innis Downs Junction135 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A30.
148 m
Exit the roundabout onto A30/Bodmin Bypass.
A306.6 km
Take the Carminow Cross exit onto A38 towards Bodmin/Liskeard/Plymouth.
A30441 m
Enter Carminow Cross Junction and take the 1st exit onto Carminow Road.
Carminow Cross Junction8 m
Exit the roundabout onto Carminow Road.
Carminow Road119 m
Turn right onto Castle Canyke Road.
Castle Canyke Road1.3 km
Turn left onto Bugle Way.
Bugle Way163 m
Turn left onto Lostwithiel Road/B3268.
Lostwithiel Road6 m
Turn right onto Beacon Road.
Beacon Road1.8 km
Turn left onto St Leonards/A389. Continue on A389.
A389792 m
Turn left onto Westheath Road.
Westheath Road487 m
Turn left onto St Mary's Road.
St Mary's Road912 m
Turn right onto St Leonards/A389.
St Leonards204 m
Turn left onto Midway Road.
Midway Road281 m
Turn right.
76 m
Turn right onto Sandra Way.
Sandra Way185 m
Turn left onto Berrycoombe Hill.
Berrycoombe Hill349 m
Turn right onto Scarletts Well Road.
Scarletts Well Road968 m
Turn right onto Berrycoombe Road.
Berrycoombe Road15 m
Turn left onto Dennison Road/A389.
Dennison Road65 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Bodmin · Route 5 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 Turfdown Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 17.1 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, 50, 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.
Hole in the Wall
Start near Hole in the Wall.
White Hart Inn
Continue to White Hart Inn.
Bodmin Christian Felowship
Continue to Bodmin Christian Felowship.
Bodmin General
Continue to Bodmin General.
Weavers Inn
Continue to Weavers Inn.
Eclipse Nightclub
Continue to Eclipse Nightclub.
Carminow Cross Junction
Continue to Carminow Cross Junction, taking the junction with good observation.
GEMINI ARC
Continue to GEMINI ARC.
New Life Church
Continue to New Life Church.
Trail Munki
Continue to Trail Munki.
College Lane Fish Bar
Continue to College Lane Fish Bar.
St. Petroc's Church
Continue to St. Petroc's Church.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Turfdown Roundabout
Continue to Turfdown Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Innis Downs Junction
Continue to Innis Downs Junction, taking the junction with good observation.
North Cornwall Alternative Provision Academy
Continue to North Cornwall Alternative Provision Academy.
St Lawrence's
Continue to St Lawrence's.
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Bodmin
Continue to St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Bodmin.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
Bodmin Community Fire Station
Finish back near Bodmin Community Fire Station, completing the loop.
6 roundabouts · 16 turns
6 roundabouts · 19 turns · 1 set of lights
8 roundabouts · 13 turns
4 roundabouts · 18 turns
This route is 40.6 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Bodmin test centre, not an official DVSA route.