Near Bolton test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 1 roundabout, 17 turns and 7 signalled junctions across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 35.9 km practice route near Bolton 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 Thynne Street. 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, 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 schools, churches, shops 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 Bolton 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 81-step drive on real, named roads (about 35.9 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
129 m
Turn right.
22 m
Turn left onto Weston Street.
Weston Street638 m
Turn right onto Manchester Road/B6536.
Manchester Road232 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Manchester Road/B6536.
Manchester Road227 m
Turn left onto Weston Street.
Weston Street464 m
Turn left onto Newport Road.
Newport Road79 m
Turn right onto Back Cecilia Street.
Back Cecilia Street27 m
Turn left onto Back Newport Road.
Back Newport Road38 m
Turn right onto Richelieu Street.
Richelieu Street47 m
Turn left onto Holmes Street.
Holmes Street146 m
Turn right onto Parkfield Road.
Parkfield Road47 m
Turn left onto Claymore Street.
Claymore Street26 m
Turn left onto Back Parkfield Road.
Back Parkfield Road103 m
Turn right onto Newport Road.
Newport Road27 m
Turn left onto Smedley Avenue.
Smedley Avenue159 m
Turn left onto Bradford Road.
Bradford Road55 m
Turn left onto Parkfield Road.
Parkfield Road167 m
Turn left onto Newport Road.
Newport Road54 m
Turn left onto Smedley Avenue.
Smedley Avenue159 m
Turn right onto Bradford Road.
Bradford Road1.7 km
Turn left onto Central Avenue.
Central Avenue608 m
Turn left onto Laburnum Road.
Laburnum Road167 m
Turn right onto Plodder Lane/B6199. Continue on B6199.
B6199319 m
Turn right onto Sutherland Street.
Sutherland Street158 m
Turn left onto Harrowby Street.
Harrowby Street119 m
Turn left onto Almond Street.
Almond Street154 m
Turn left onto Glynne Street/B6199.
Glynne Street118 m
Turn left onto Sutherland Street.
Sutherland Street158 m
Turn left onto Harrowby Street.
Harrowby Street339 m
Turn left onto Albert Road/A575.
Albert Road19 m
Turn left.
6 m
Move right onto Back Harrowby Street.
Back Harrowby Street43 m
Turn right onto Back Albert Road.
Back Albert Road23 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Back Albert Road.
Back Albert Road23 m
Turn left onto Back Harrowby Street.
Back Harrowby Street43 m
Move left.
6 m
Turn left onto Albert Road/A575. Continue on A575.
A575180 m
Keep left to take Egerton Street/A575.
Egerton Street364 m
Turn left onto Cawdor Street.
Cawdor Street97 m
Turn right onto Phethean Street.
Phethean Street164 m
Turn right onto Lorne Street.
Lorne Street110 m
Turn left onto Egerton Street/A575.
Egerton Street69 m
Move right to stay on Egerton Street.
Egerton Street22 m
Turn right onto Bolton Road/A6053.
Bolton Road364 m
Turn right onto Gladstone Road/A575. Continue on A575.
A5751.3 km
Turn right onto Buckley Lane/A5082. Continue on A5082.
A50821.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cleggs Lane/A5082.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cleggs Lane/A5082. Continue on A5082.
A50823.2 km
Turn right onto Sale Lane/A577. Continue on A577.
A5771.6 km
Turn right onto Whewell Street.
Whewell Street45 m
Turn left onto Darlington Street.
Darlington Street81 m
Turn left onto Common Lane/A577.
Common Lane44 m
Turn left onto Manchester Road/A577. Continue on A577.
A5771.7 km
Turn left onto Mort Lane/A5082. Continue on A5082.
A50823.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cleggs Lane/A5082.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cleggs Lane/A5082. Continue on A5082.
A50821.2 km
Turn left onto Albert Road/A575. Continue on A575.
A575904 m
Keep left to stay on A575.
A5751.1 km
Take the exit on the right.
A6661.8 km
Take the exit.
A666317 m
Turn right onto Bradford Street/A579.
Bradford Street37 m
Turn right to take the A666 ramp.
A6661.7 km
Take the Manchester Road exit.
Manchester Road644 m
Make a sharp right to stay on Manchester Road/A575.
Manchester Road273 m
Take the A666 exit on the right.
A6663.1 km
Turn left onto Topp Way/A673.
Topp Way1.0 km
Make a right U-turn at Deansgate/B6204 onto Marsden Road.
Marsden Road319 m
Make a right U-turn at St Georges Road/A673 to stay on Marsden Road.
Marsden Road644 m
Move right onto Moor Lane/A676.
Moor Lane77 m
Turn left to stay on Moor Lane/A676.
Moor Lane122 m
Turn left onto Trinity Street/A579.
Trinity Street443 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Trinity Street/A579.
Trinity Street229 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Trinity Street/A579.
Trinity Street234 m
Turn right onto Thynne Street.
Thynne Street151 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Thynne Street.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto Thynne Street.
Thynne Street189 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Thynne Street.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Thynne Street.
Thynne Street638 m
Turn left onto Weston Street.
Weston Street125 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Bolton · Route 13 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 6.5 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 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.
Bolton Islamic Girls School
Start near Bolton Islamic Girls School.
Rose Hill United Reformed Church
Continue to Rose Hill United Reformed Church.
Retail Laundry
Continue to Retail Laundry.
Grapes Inn
Continue to Grapes Inn.
Shakespeare
Continue to Shakespeare.
Farnworth United Reformed Church
Continue to Farnworth United Reformed Church.
Duke's Gate
Continue to Duke's Gate.
Sizzling Spice
Continue to Sizzling Spice.
Colliers Arms
Continue to Colliers Arms.
Gatehouse
Continue to Gatehouse.
Fey Wong
Continue to Fey Wong.
Wharton & Cleggs Lane Church
Continue to Wharton & Cleggs Lane Church.
Bridgewater Hotel
Continue to Bridgewater Hotel.
Moses Gate
Continue to Moses Gate.
Williams BMW Mini
Continue to Williams BMW Mini.
Burger King
Continue to Burger King.
Bethel Church
Continue to Bethel Church.
Madinah Masjid
Continue to Madinah Masjid.
Bolton
Continue to Bolton.
Thynne Street
Finish back near Thynne Street, completing the loop.
1 roundabout · 19 turns · 8 sets of lights
3 roundabouts · 22 turns · 5 sets of lights
3 roundabouts · 18 turns · 6 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 20 turns · 5 sets of lights
This route is 35.9 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Bolton test centre, not an official DVSA route.