Near Borehamwood test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 15 roundabouts and 10 turns across 31 navigation steps.
This is an independent 54.1 km practice route near Borehamwood 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 Barnet Lane, Elstree Road, Elstree Way and Kenilworth Drive. 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, 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 named junctions, shops, churches and schools, 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 Borehamwood 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 98-step drive on real, named roads (about 54.1 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east on Stirling Court.
Stirling Court19 m
Turn right onto Stirling Way.
Stirling Way429 m
Turn left to stay on Stirling Way.
Stirling Way24 m
Enter Stirling Corner and take the 4th exit onto Barnet Lane/A411.
Stirling Corner189 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barnet Lane/A411.
Barnet Lane445 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Barnet Lane/A411.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barnet Lane/A411.
A4114.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Road/A411.
61 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Road/A411.
Elstree Road606 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Road/A411.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Road/A411.
Elstree Road1.3 km
Turn right onto High Road/A4140.
High Road1.6 km
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road244 m
Turn right onto Herkomer Road.
Herkomer Road102 m
Turn right onto Bournehall Road.
Bournehall Road185 m
Turn left onto High Street/A411. Continue on A411.
A4111.5 km
Turn left onto Elstree Road/A411.
Elstree Road1.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Elstree Road/A411.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Road/A411.
Elstree Road603 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Road/A411.
59 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Road/A411.
Elstree Road1.5 km
Move right onto Watford Road.
Watford Road2.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Barnet Lane/A411.
53 m
Exit the roundabout onto Barnet Lane/A411.
Barnet Lane435 m
Enter Stirling Corner and take the 2nd exit onto A1/Barnet Bypass.
Stirling Corner46 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1/Barnet Bypass.
A11.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Newark Green.
200 m
Exit the roundabout onto Newark Green.
Newark Green175 m
Turn right onto Balmoral Drive.
Balmoral Drive274 m
Turn right onto Warwick Road.
Warwick Road230 m
Turn left onto A5135.
A5135461 m
Enter Elstree Way and take the 3rd exit onto Elstree Way/A5135.
Elstree Way45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Way/A5135. Continue on A5135.
A5135588 m
Move left.
52 m
Move left onto Rowley Lane.
Rowley Lane442 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Rowley Lane.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Rowley Lane.
Rowley Lane367 m
Turn left onto Well End Road.
Well End Road2.9 km
Move right onto London Road/B5378. Continue on B5378.
B53781.4 km
Turn left onto Porters Park Drive.
Porters Park Drive1.8 km
Turn right onto Shenleybury/B5378. Continue on B5378.
B5378858 m
Turn right onto Woodhall Lane/B5378. Continue on B5378.
B53783.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto B5378.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto B5378.
B5378128 m
Enter Tesco Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto B5378.
Tesco Roundabout75 m
Exit the roundabout onto B5378.
B5378128 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Brook Road.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brook Road.
Brook Road1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Gateshead Road.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gateshead Road.
Gateshead Road469 m
Turn right onto Theobald Street.
Theobald Street3.1 km
Turn left onto Watling Street/A5183. Continue on A5183.
A51833.8 km
Turn left onto Allum Lane/B5378.
Allum Lane1.4 km
Turn left onto Theobald Street.
Theobald Street156 m
Turn left onto Theobald Court.
Theobald Court63 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Theobald Court.
Theobald Court63 m
Turn left onto Theobald Street.
Theobald Street1.4 km
Turn right onto Aycliffe Road.
Aycliffe Road268 m
Turn left onto Rossington Avenue.
Rossington Avenue300 m
Turn right.
97 m
Turn left onto Rossington Avenue.
Rossington Avenue257 m
Turn left onto Aycliffe Road.
Aycliffe Road468 m
Make a left U-turn at Allerton Road to stay on Aycliffe Road.
Aycliffe Road286 m
Make a left U-turn at Belford Road to stay on Aycliffe Road.
Aycliffe Road131 m
Turn right onto Leeming Road.
Leeming Road300 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Brook Road.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brook Road.
Brook Road1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Way/A5135.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Way/A5135.
Elstree Way509 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Way/A5135.
22 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Way/A5135.
Elstree Way21 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Elstree Way/A5135.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Way/A5135. Continue on A5135.
A5135467 m
Turn right onto Warwick Road.
Warwick Road230 m
Turn right onto Chester Road.
Chester Road347 m
Turn left onto Manor Way.
Manor Way324 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Kenilworth Drive.
61 m
Exit the roundabout onto Kenilworth Drive.
Kenilworth Drive163 m
Turn right onto Bullhead Road.
Bullhead Road31 m
Turn right to stay on Bullhead Road.
Bullhead Road5 m
Turn left to stay on Bullhead Road.
Bullhead Road510 m
Turn right onto Elstree Way/A5135.
Elstree Way118 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Way/A5135.
22 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Way/A5135.
Elstree Way21 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Manor Way.
22 m
Exit the roundabout onto Manor Way.
Manor Way540 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Kenilworth Drive.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Kenilworth Drive.
Kenilworth Drive433 m
Turn right onto Balmoral Drive.
Balmoral Drive222 m
Turn left onto Howard Drive.
Howard Drive86 m
Turn left onto Tempsford Avenue.
Tempsford Avenue420 m
Turn left onto Newark Green.
Newark Green98 m
Turn right onto Balmoral Drive.
Balmoral Drive622 m
Turn right onto Manor Way.
Manor Way217 m
Enter Elstree Way and take the 2nd exit onto Elstree Way/A5135.
Elstree Way28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elstree Way/A5135. Continue on A5135.
A5135467 m
Turn right onto Warwick Road.
Warwick Road189 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Borehamwood · Route 11 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.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
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 1.7 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 (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.
Barnet Lane
Start near Barnet Lane.
Village Food and Wine
Continue to Village Food and Wine.
Elstree Road
Continue to Elstree Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Church of St Peter
Continue to Church of St Peter.
St Hilda's School
Continue to St Hilda's School.
Ash's Newsagents
Continue to Ash's Newsagents.
Elstree Way
Continue to Elstree Way, taking the junction with good observation.
Mops & Brooms
Continue to Mops & Brooms.
St Martin
Continue to St Martin.
Grace Avenue Public Open space
Continue to Grace Avenue Public Open space.
White Horse
Continue to White Horse.
St Teresa of the Child Jesus
Continue to St Teresa of the Child Jesus.
St Michael and All Angels Church
Continue to St Michael and All Angels Church.
Co-operative Food
Continue to Co-operative Food.
Christ Church
Continue to Christ Church.
Waggon and Horses
Continue to Waggon and Horses.
Elstree & Borehamwood
Continue to Elstree & Borehamwood.
St John Fisher and St Thomas More
Continue to St John Fisher and St Thomas More.
Kenilworth Drive
Continue to Kenilworth Drive, taking the junction with good observation.
Holy Cross
Finish back near Holy Cross, completing the loop.
24 roundabouts · 12 turns · 1 set of lights
6 roundabouts · 13 turns
13 roundabouts · 12 turns · 2 sets of lights
5 roundabouts · 14 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 54.1 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Borehamwood test centre, not an official DVSA route.