Near Buckie test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts and 14 turns across 19 navigation steps.
This is an independent 35.2 km practice route near Buckie test centre, taking roughly 25 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, 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 churches, shops, 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 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 87-step drive on real, named roads (about 35.2 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 left onto Harbour Street.
Harbour Street74 m
Turn left onto East Church Street.
East Church Street289 m
Turn left onto Shanks Lane.
Shanks Lane74 m
Turn right onto Newland's Lane.
Newland's Lane83 m
Turn left onto Garden Lane.
Garden Lane209 m
Turn right onto School Lane.
School Lane65 m
Turn right onto High Street/A942.
High Street140 m
Turn right onto East Cathcart Street.
East Cathcart Street255 m
Turn left onto Cathcart Grove.
Cathcart Grove67 m
Turn left onto Newland's Lane.
Newland's Lane197 m
Turn left onto Garden Lane.
Garden Lane69 m
Turn right onto East Cathcart Street.
East Cathcart Street67 m
Turn left onto High Street/A942.
High Street579 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.
A984.4 km
Turn left.
419 m
Turn left.
583 m
Turn left onto B9016.
B9016558 m
Turn right onto A98.
A985.5 km
Turn left.
1.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto March Road.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto March Road.
March Road635 m
Turn right onto Freuchny Road.
Freuchny Road108 m
Turn left onto Commercial Road/A942.
Commercial Road529 m
Keep left to take Marine Place.
Marine Place64 m
Turn right to stay on Marine Place.
Marine Place16 m
Turn right onto Marine Place/A942. Continue on A942.
A942944 m
Turn left onto Blantyre Terrace.
Blantyre Terrace39 m
Turn right onto Seafield Street.
Seafield Street96 m
Turn right onto Ianstown Terrace.
Ianstown Terrace49 m
Turn right onto Reidhaven Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A9421.3 km
Turn left onto North High Street/A942.
North High Street86 m
Turn right onto Seaview Place.
Seaview Place128 m
Turn right onto Cluny Place.
Cluny Place87 m
Turn left onto Paterson's Lane.
Paterson's Lane58 m
Turn left onto Admiralty Street.
Admiralty Street50 m
Turn right onto Moray Lane.
Moray Lane124 m
Turn right onto Hall Street.
Hall Street155 m
Turn right onto Cluny Terrace.
Cluny Terrace87 m
Turn left onto Seaview Place.
Seaview Place128 m
Turn left onto North High Street/A942.
North High Street86 m
Turn right onto Bank Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A9421.2 km
Turn left onto Blantyre Terrace.
Blantyre Terrace39 m
Turn right onto Seafield Street.
Seafield Street96 m
Turn right onto Ianstown Terrace.
Ianstown Terrace49 m
Turn left onto Reidhaven Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A9422.9 km
Keep left to take B9020.
B9020385 m
Turn left.
101 m
Turn left onto Main Street.
Main Street175 m
Turn right onto Blantyre Terrace.
Blantyre Terrace80 m
Turn left onto Church Street.
Church Street54 m
Turn right onto North Blantyre Street.
North Blantyre Street106 m
Turn right onto South Blantyre Street.
South Blantyre Street97 m
Turn left onto Blantyre Terrace.
Blantyre Terrace325 m
Turn right onto A942.
A942546 m
Turn left onto Netherton Terrace/A942. Continue on A942.
A9424.1 km
Keep left to take Marine Place.
Marine Place106 m
Turn left onto Low Street/A942. Continue on A942.
A942254 m
Turn left onto North High Street/A942.
North High Street166 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto High Street/A942.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto High Street/A942.
High Street323 m
Turn left onto Freuchny Lane.
Freuchny Lane63 m
Turn left onto Garden Lane.
Garden Lane187 m
Turn right onto East Cathcart Street.
East Cathcart Street188 m
Turn left onto Cathcart Grove.
Cathcart Grove140 m
Turn right onto East Church Street.
East Church Street175 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 Street72 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Buckie · 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.
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.
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.
Buckie South and West Church of Scotland
Start near Buckie South and West Church of Scotland.
Co-operative Food
Continue to Co-operative Food.
Moments
Continue to Moments.
Moray Rich Out
Continue to Moray Rich Out.
Riverside Christian Church
Continue to Riverside Christian Church.
KGM
Continue to KGM.
Moravian Motors Ford Buckie
Continue to Moravian Motors Ford Buckie.
Spar
Continue to Spar.
Vauxhall
Continue to Vauxhall.
Boyd Food Machinery
Continue to Boyd Food Machinery.
Moray College UHI - Buckie Learning Centre
Continue to Moray College UHI - Buckie Learning Centre.
Eat mare fish
Continue to Eat mare fish.
Buckie Baptist Church
Continue to Buckie Baptist Church.
Mannie - War Memorial
Continue to Mannie - War Memorial.
Salvation Army - Findochty
Continue to Salvation Army - Findochty.
Findochty Methodist Church
Continue to Findochty Methodist Church.
Boda Flowers
Continue to Boda Flowers.
North Church
Continue to North Church.
Pozzi
Continue to Pozzi.
Pub in the Square
Finish back near Pub in the Square, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 17 turns
5 roundabouts · 19 turns
5 roundabouts · 18 turns
This route is 35.2 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Buckie test centre, not an official DVSA route.