Near Buxton test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 1 roundabout and 20 turns across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 23.7 km practice route near Buxton 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.
On this route you’ll practise multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, 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 Buxton 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 99-step drive on real, named roads (about 23.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest on Green Lane.
Green Lane852 m
Keep left to stay on Green Lane.
Green Lane548 m
Turn right onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue74 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Cavendish Avenue.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue49 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Cavendish Avenue.
92 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue49 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Milldale Avenue.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Milldale Avenue.
Milldale Avenue254 m
Keep left to stay on Milldale Avenue.
Milldale Avenue192 m
Turn right onto Temple Road.
Temple Road90 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane478 m
Turn right onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue74 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Cavendish Avenue.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue49 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Cavendish Avenue.
92 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue49 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cavendish Avenue.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue74 m
Turn left onto Green Lane.
Green Lane1.0 km
Turn left onto College Road.
College Road263 m
Keep left to stay on College Road.
College Road124 m
Turn left onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road1.2 km
Move left onto A53/Leek Road.
A5332 m
Turn right onto Macclesfield Old Road.
Macclesfield Old Road343 m
Turn left onto Anncroft Road.
Anncroft Road470 m
Turn left onto Level Lane.
Level Lane126 m
Turn right onto Macclesfield Old Road.
Macclesfield Old Road33 m
Keep left to stay on Macclesfield Old Road.
Macclesfield Old Road118 m
Keep left to stay on Macclesfield Old Road.
Macclesfield Old Road127 m
Keep left to stay on Macclesfield Old Road.
Macclesfield Old Road419 m
Turn left onto A53/Leek Road.
A5310 m
Keep left to stay on A53/Leek Road.
A5321 m
Move right onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Bath Road.
Bath Road32 m
Move left onto Burlington Road.
Burlington Road494 m
Turn left onto A53/St John's Road.
A531.1 km
Make a sharp left onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road21 m
Keep right to stay on Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road69 m
Turn left.
29 m
Turn right onto A53/St John's Road.
A531.4 km
Turn left onto A5004.
A5004775 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road134 m
Keep left to stay on Park Road.
Park Road149 m
Turn left to stay on Park Road.
Park Road328 m
Turn left to stay on Park Road.
Park Road132 m
Turn left onto Manchester Road/A5004.
Manchester Road270 m
Turn right onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road11 m
Turn left onto Corbar Road.
Corbar Road397 m
Keep right to stay on Corbar Road.
Corbar Road119 m
Keep left to stay on Corbar Road.
Corbar Road87 m
Turn right onto Lightwood Road.
Lightwood Road917 m
Turn left onto A6/Fairfield Road.
A6323 m
Turn right onto Queens Road.
Queens Road121 m
Turn right onto Windsor Park Road.
Windsor Park Road166 m
Turn right onto Windsor Road.
Windsor Road87 m
Turn left onto Queens Road.
Queens Road48 m
Turn left onto A6/Fairfield Road.
A6279 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Fairfield Road.
A6220 m
Move right onto A53/Spring Gardens.
A5379 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A53/Bridge Street.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Bridge Street.
A53100 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A53/Station Road.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Station Road.
A53412 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A53/St John's Road.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/St John's Road.
A5388 m
Keep left to stay on A53/St John's Road.
A5327 m
Move right onto Manchester Road/A5004.
Manchester Road90 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road132 m
Turn right to stay on Park Road.
Park Road613 m
Turn right to stay on Park Road.
Park Road164 m
Turn left onto A53/St John's Road.
A53595 m
Turn right to stay on A53/St John's Road.
A5353 m
Keep right to stay on A53/St John's Road.
A5361 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A53/Station Road.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Station Road.
A53412 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A53/Bridge Street.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Bridge Street.
A53100 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A53/Spring Gardens.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Spring Gardens.
A5379 m
Move left onto A6/Fairfield Road.
A6499 m
Turn right onto Queens Road.
Queens Road211 m
Move left onto Queen's Road.
Queen's Road287 m
Turn right to stay on Queen's Road.
Queen's Road531 m
Turn right.
52 m
Make a right U-turn.
52 m
Turn left onto Tongue Lane.
Tongue Lane531 m
Turn left onto Queen's Road.
Queen's Road22 m
Keep straight to stay on Queen's Road.
Queen's Road264 m
Move right onto Queens Road.
Queens Road210 m
Turn left onto A6/Fairfield Road.
A6279 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Fairfield Road.
A6220 m
Turn left onto A6/Bakewell Road.
A6330 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Bakewell Road.
A6110 m
Keep straight to stay on A6/Bakewell Road.
A6196 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Dale Road/B5059.
45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dale Road/B5059.
Dale Road183 m
Keep left to stay on Dale Road/B5059.
Dale Road206 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Buxton · Route 14 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.
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 7.2 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.
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.
A Block
Start near A Block.
Buxton Community Church
Continue to Buxton Community Church.
F Block
Continue to F Block.
Poole's Cavern
Continue to Poole's Cavern.
Burbage Village Stores
Continue to Burbage Village Stores.
Christ Church Burbage
Continue to Christ Church Burbage.
Ramsay's Bar
Continue to Ramsay's Bar.
Buxton Swimming and Fitness Centre
Continue to Buxton Swimming and Fitness Centre.
Old Clubhouse
Continue to Old Clubhouse.
Parish Church of St John the Baptist
Continue to Parish Church of St John the Baptist.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
Railway
Continue to Railway.
Wye Bridge House
Continue to Wye Bridge House.
Buxton
Continue to Buxton.
Old Courthouse
Continue to Old Courthouse.
Red Willow
Continue to Red Willow.
Buxton Railworks
Continue to Buxton Railworks.
Buxton Tap House
Continue to Buxton Tap House.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Ashwood Park
Finish back near Ashwood Park, completing the loop.
23 turns
28 turns
20 turns
19 turns
This route is 23.7 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Buxton test centre, not an official DVSA route.