Near Boston test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 20 turns and 3 signalled junctions across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 25.6 km practice loop near Boston test centre, taking roughly 40 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.
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 shops, churches, schools 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 Boston 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 25.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west on Redstone Road.
Redstone Road277 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Redstone Road.
Redstone Road249 m
Turn right to stay on Redstone Road.
Redstone Road180 m
Move left onto A16/Spalding Road.
A16695 m
Enter Liquorpond Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A16/John Adams Way.
Liquorpond Street Roundabout32 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/John Adams Way. Continue on A16.
A16431 m
Turn left onto Quaker Lane.
Quaker Lane131 m
Move left.
29 m
Move left onto Shodfriars Lane.
Shodfriars Lane75 m
Turn left onto South Street.
South Street226 m
Turn right onto A16/John Adams Way. Continue on A16.
A16303 m
Enter Liquorpond Street Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A16/John Adams Way.
Liquorpond Street Roundabout62 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/John Adams Way. Continue on A16.
A16951 m
Turn left onto Botolph Street.
Botolph Street87 m
Turn right onto Pen Street.
Pen Street472 m
Turn right onto Hartley Street.
Hartley Street278 m
Turn left onto Horncastle Road/A1137. Continue on Horncastle Road.
Horncastle Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Red Cap Lane.
Red Cap Lane18 m
Turn left to stay on Red Cap Lane.
Red Cap Lane25 m
Turn right onto Horncastle Road/B1183. Continue on Horncastle Road.
Horncastle Road1.2 km
Turn left onto A1137.
A113732 m
Enter Bargate Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A16/John Adams Way.
Bargate Roundabout38 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/John Adams Way.
A16310 m
Turn left onto Main Ridge East.
Main Ridge East351 m
Move right onto Freiston Road.
Freiston Road298 m
Turn left onto Elizabeth Road.
Elizabeth Road411 m
Turn left onto Tower Road.
Tower Road446 m
Turn right onto Freiston Road.
Freiston Road184 m
Turn left onto A16/Spilsby Road. Continue on A16.
A16137 m
Enter Bargate Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A16/John Adams Way.
Bargate Roundabout9 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/John Adams Way. Continue on A16.
A161.2 km
Enter Liquorpond Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A52.
Liquorpond Street Roundabout36 m
Exit the roundabout onto A52.
A52364 m
Turn right onto West Street.
West Street30 m
Turn left onto Trinity Street.
Trinity Street181 m
Turn right onto Station Street.
Station Street92 m
Turn left onto Tower Street.
Tower Street57 m
Turn right to stay on Tower Street.
Tower Street136 m
Turn left onto Haven Bank.
Haven Bank41 m
Turn left onto Irby Street.
Irby Street384 m
Turn right onto Fydell Street/A1137. Continue on A1137.
A113781 m
Turn right to stay on A1137.
A113782 m
Turn left onto Norfolk Street/A1137.
Norfolk Street773 m
Turn right onto Horncastle Road/A1137.
Horncastle Road383 m
Turn left to stay on A1137.
A113732 m
Enter Bargate Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A16/Wide Bargate.
Bargate Roundabout2 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/Wide Bargate. Continue on A16.
A16131 m
Turn right onto Freiston Road.
Freiston Road195 m
Turn left onto Tower Road.
Tower Road446 m
Turn right onto Elizabeth Road.
Elizabeth Road411 m
Turn left onto Freiston Road.
Freiston Road328 m
Turn right onto Forbes Road.
Forbes Road267 m
Turn left onto Woad Farm Road.
Woad Farm Road133 m
Turn left onto Winslow Road.
Winslow Road154 m
Turn left onto Wellington Road.
Wellington Road190 m
Turn left to stay on Wellington Road.
Wellington Road35 m
Turn left onto Forbes Road.
Forbes Road149 m
Turn left onto Woad Farm Road.
Woad Farm Road564 m
Turn right onto Kingsway.
Kingsway369 m
Turn right onto Fishtoft Road.
Fishtoft Road946 m
Turn right onto South End/A1138.
South End254 m
Move left onto A16/John Adams Way. Continue on A16.
A1691 m
Move left onto High Street.
High Street26 m
Turn right onto A16/John Adams Way.
A16181 m
Enter Liquorpond Street Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A16/Spalding Road.
Liquorpond Street Roundabout6 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/Spalding Road.
A16961 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A16.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16.
A16178 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit.
39 m
Exit the roundabout.
92 m
Move left onto A16.
A16812 m
Stay straight to take the ramp.
A1663 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A16/Splading Road.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/Splading Road.
A16696 m
Turn right onto Saundergate Lane.
Saundergate Lane567 m
Turn right onto London Road/B1397.
London Road353 m
Move right onto London Road/B1397. Continue on London Road.
London Road1.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A16/Spalding Road.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/Spalding Road.
A16957 m
Enter Liquorpond Street Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A16/Spalding Road.
Liquorpond Street Roundabout60 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/Spalding Road.
A16961 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A16/Spalding Road.
80 m
Exit the roundabout onto A16/Spalding Road.
A16215 m
Keep left to take Redstone Road.
Redstone Road187 m
Turn left to stay on Redstone Road.
Redstone Road148 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Boston · 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.
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 8.1 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, 40, 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.
Tony Vamplew's Auto Centre
Start near Tony Vamplew's Auto Centre.
Salvation Army
Continue to Salvation Army.
Sam Newsom Centre (Boston College)
Continue to Sam Newsom Centre (Boston College).
New Inn
Continue to New Inn.
Boston Mosque & Islamic Centre
Continue to Boston Mosque & Islamic Centre.
Catholic Church of St Mary
Continue to Catholic Church of St Mary.
Coach and Horses
Continue to Coach and Horses.
ABC Day Nursery
Continue to ABC Day Nursery.
Boston Unitarian Chapel
Continue to Boston Unitarian Chapel.
Boston Christian Fellowship
Continue to Boston Christian Fellowship.
Georges
Continue to Georges.
Hospital Bridge Methodist Church
Continue to Hospital Bridge Methodist Church.
L & C Foodmarkets
Continue to L & C Foodmarkets.
Queen of Spades Public House
Continue to Queen of Spades Public House.
Ann's Fish and Chips
Continue to Ann's Fish and Chips.
Little Acorns Day Nursery
Continue to Little Acorns Day Nursery.
Low Quay Barbership
Continue to Low Quay Barbership.
Spirit of Endeavour
Continue to Spirit of Endeavour.
Boston United Reformed Church
Continue to Boston United Reformed Church.
St. Thomas
Finish back near St. Thomas, completing the loop.
7 roundabouts · 17 turns · 1 set of lights
8 roundabouts · 20 turns · 3 sets of lights
3 roundabouts · 18 turns · 1 set of lights
7 roundabouts · 15 turns · 4 sets of lights
This route is 25.6 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Boston test centre, not an official DVSA route.