Near Buckie test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts and 17 turns across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 60.0 km practice loop near Buckie test centre, taking roughly 30 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 Burns Square. 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 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 named junctions, shops, churches 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 Buckie 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 78-step drive on real, named roads (about 59.9 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
21 m
Turn left.
68 m
Turn left onto Cathcart Grove.
Cathcart Grove67 m
Turn right onto Newland's Lane.
Newland's Lane172 m
Turn right onto Harbour Street.
Harbour Street193 m
Enter Burns Square and take the 2nd exit onto Harbour Street.
Burns Square41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harbour Street.
Harbour Street99 m
Turn right onto Well Road.
Well Road451 m
Turn left onto High Street/A942.
High Street282 m
Turn right onto Steinbeck Road.
Steinbeck Road126 m
Turn right onto Spey Drive.
Spey Drive143 m
Turn left onto McNaughton Avenue.
McNaughton Avenue140 m
Turn left onto Cameron Crescent.
Cameron Crescent205 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Cameron Crescent.
Cameron Crescent1 m
Turn right onto Steinbeck Road.
Steinbeck Road419 m
Turn left onto High Street/A942.
High Street219 m
Turn left onto Cameron Crescent.
Cameron Crescent68 m
Turn left onto Burnbank.
Burnbank216 m
Turn left onto Steinbeck Road.
Steinbeck Road68 m
Turn right onto High Street/A942.
High Street350 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A942.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto A942.
A942509 m
Turn right onto A98.
A984.1 km
Turn right onto A990.
A9901.9 km
Turn right onto Lennox Place/A990. Continue on A990.
A990453 m
Turn left onto High Street East/A990.
High Street East32 m
Turn right onto Hope Street/A990. Continue on A990.
A9903.3 km
Turn left onto Bank Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A9421.2 km
Turn left onto Blantyre Terrace.
Blantyre Terrace83 m
Turn right onto Crown Street.
Crown Street83 m
Turn right onto Ianstown Terrace.
Ianstown Terrace99 m
Turn right onto Reidhaven Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A942210 m
Turn left onto Richmond Street.
Richmond Street65 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Richmond Street.
Richmond Street65 m
Turn left onto Rathburn Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A9421.1 km
Turn right onto Bank Street/A990. Continue on A990.
A9903.3 km
Turn left onto High Street East/A990. Continue on A990.
A990153 m
Turn left onto Cross Street.
Cross Street324 m
Turn right onto Tannachy Terrace.
Tannachy Terrace109 m
Turn left onto Tannachy Road.
Tannachy Road71 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Tannachy Road.
Tannachy Road32 m
Turn left onto Crown Street.
Crown Street289 m
Turn left onto A990.
A9901.6 km
Turn right onto A98.
A9852 m
Turn left onto B9016.
B901610.6 km
Turn left onto A96.
A962.1 km
Turn left onto A96/Haughs Road. Continue on A96.
A961.8 km
Move left.
63 m
Keep right to take Bus Lane.
Bus Lane113 m
Move left.
14 m
Keep right at the fork.
63 m
Turn right onto A96/Moss Street. Continue on A96.
A961.8 km
Move right onto A96/Haughs Road.
A9623 m
Turn right to stay on A96.
A962.1 km
Turn right onto B9016.
B901610.6 km
Turn right onto A98.
A9852 m
Turn left onto A990.
A9901.9 km
Turn right onto Lennox Place/A990. Continue on A990.
A990453 m
Turn left onto High Street East/A990.
High Street East32 m
Turn right onto Hope Street/A990. Continue on A990.
A9902.0 km
Turn right onto Slaughterhouse Brae.
Slaughterhouse Brae84 m
Turn left to stay on Slaughterhouse Brae.
Slaughterhouse Brae273 m
Turn left onto Seaview Road.
Seaview Road177 m
Move right onto Land Street.
Land Street232 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto St Andrew's Square.
5 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Andrew's Square.
St Andrew's Square43 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto West Church Street.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto West Church Street.
West Church Street701 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cluny Square.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cluny Square.
Cluny Square431 m
Turn right onto Harbour Street.
Harbour Street160 m
Turn right onto Mill Crescent.
Mill Crescent402 m
Turn right onto Well Road.
Well Road160 m
Turn left onto High Street/A942.
High Street92 m
Turn right to stay on High Street.
High Street185 m
Turn left onto High Street/A942.
High Street546 m
Turn right onto East Cathcart Street.
East Cathcart Street127 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Buckie · Route 1 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.
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 7.7 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 (20, 30, 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.
Burns Square
Start near Burns Square.
Leapmotor
Continue to Leapmotor.
Moravian Motors Ford Buckie
Continue to Moravian Motors Ford Buckie.
Boyd Food Machinery
Continue to Boyd Food Machinery.
Enzie Parish Church
Continue to Enzie Parish Church.
Portgordon Fairytale Walk
Continue to Portgordon Fairytale Walk.
Harbour Bar
Continue to Harbour Bar.
Old Bicycles by the Sea
Continue to Old Bicycles by the Sea.
Eat mare fish
Continue to Eat mare fish.
Star Inn
Continue to Star Inn.
DC George Recovery
Continue to DC George Recovery.
War Memorial
Continue to War Memorial.
Keith Town
Continue to Keith Town.
Kirk of Keith: St Rufus Botriphnie & Grange
Continue to Kirk of Keith: St Rufus Botriphnie & Grange.
North Church
Continue to North Church.
All Saints
Continue to All Saints.
Riverside Christian Church
Continue to Riverside Christian Church.
St Peter's Church
Continue to St Peter's Church.
Buckie Home Hardware
Continue to Buckie Home Hardware.
Buckie South and West Church of Scotland
Finish back near Buckie South and West Church of Scotland, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 19 turns
2 roundabouts · 14 turns
5 roundabouts · 18 turns
This route is 60.0 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Buckie test centre, not an official DVSA route.