Near Buxton test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 20 turns across 23 navigation steps.
This is an independent 35.4 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.
Along the way you'll meet Buxton Road. 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, 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, stations, pubs and shops, 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 108-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 northeast on Green Lane.
Green Lane57 m
Turn right onto Dale Road/B5059.
Dale Road781 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6/Bakewell Road.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Bakewell Road.
A630 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Bakewell Road.
A6606 m
Turn right onto A6/Fairfield Road.
A6500 m
Turn right onto Queens Road.
Queens Road120 m
Turn right onto Windsor Park Road.
Windsor Park Road112 m
Turn right to stay on Windsor Park Road.
Windsor Park Road54 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 Road245 m
Turn right onto Boarstones Lane.
Boarstones Lane350 m
Turn left onto Victoria Park Road.
Victoria Park Road159 m
Turn left onto Cornwall Avenue.
Cornwall Avenue261 m
Turn right onto Boarstones Lane.
Boarstones Lane117 m
Turn right onto Thornsett Avenue.
Thornsett Avenue110 m
Turn right onto Tongue Lane.
Tongue Lane39 m
Keep left to stay on Tongue Lane.
Tongue Lane147 m
Keep right to stay on Tongue Lane.
Tongue Lane105 m
Keep left to stay on Tongue Lane.
Tongue Lane351 m
Turn left onto Queen's Road.
Queen's Road287 m
Move right onto Queens Road.
Queens Road163 m
Turn left onto Windsor Road.
Windsor Road12 m
Keep left to stay on Windsor Road.
Windsor Road74 m
Turn left onto Windsor Park Road.
Windsor Park Road54 m
Turn left to stay on Windsor Park Road.
Windsor Park Road112 m
Turn right onto Queens Road.
Queens Road90 m
Move left onto Queen's Road.
Queen's Road93 m
Turn left onto Dakin Avenue.
Dakin Avenue194 m
Turn right onto Waterswallows Road.
Waterswallows Road1.2 km
Keep right to stay on Waterswallows Road.
Waterswallows Road128 m
Keep right to stay on Waterswallows Road.
Waterswallows Road438 m
Turn left onto Waterswallows Lane.
Waterswallows Lane916 m
Turn left onto Batham Gate Road.
Batham Gate Road228 m
Turn left onto A6/Buxton Road.
A61.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6/Buxton Road.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Buxton Road. Continue on A6.
A6724 m
Keep left to take A6/Fairfield Road.
A6189 m
Move right onto A53/Spring Gardens.
A5394 m
Move left onto A6/Fairfield Road. Continue on A6.
A6913 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6/Buxton Road.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Buxton Road.
A61.6 km
Turn right onto Batham Gate Road.
Batham Gate Road2.1 km
Turn left onto Dale Road.
Dale Road2.1 km
Turn right onto A6/Hallsteads.
A6706 m
Turn right onto Beelow Close.
Beelow Close16 m
Turn right onto Hallsteads.
Hallsteads124 m
Turn right onto The Meadows.
The Meadows613 m
Keep left to take A6/Buxton Road.
A6262 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Buxton Road.
A6101 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Buxton Road.
A63.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6/Buxton Road.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Buxton Road. Continue on A6.
A6723 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Fairfield Road.
A612 m
Turn right onto Lightwood Road.
Lightwood Road367 m
Keep left to stay on Lightwood Road.
Lightwood Road549 m
Turn left onto Corbar Road.
Corbar Road605 m
Turn right onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road11 m
Turn right onto Manchester Road/A5004.
Manchester Road350 m
Keep left to stay on Manchester Road/A5004.
Manchester Road51 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road54 m
Turn right onto Carlisle Road.
Carlisle Road542 m
Turn right onto A53/St John's Road.
A53755 m
Turn left.
29 m
Turn left onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Bath Road.
Bath Road32 m
Move left onto Burlington Road.
Burlington Road409 m
Turn right.
32 m
Turn left.
10 m
Turn left.
10 m
Turn right.
16 m
Turn left onto Burlington Road.
Burlington Road410 m
Turn left onto Bath Road.
Bath Road35 m
Keep left to stay on Bath Road.
Bath Road240 m
Turn right onto A515/High Street.
A515101 m
Move right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane100 m
Turn right onto Spencer Road.
Spencer Road215 m
Turn left onto Robertson Road.
Robertson Road238 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane543 m
Keep left to stay on Green Lane.
Green Lane6 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Buxton · Route 18 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.
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 16.2 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.
Buxton Community Church
Start near Buxton Community Church.
Church of St Mary the Virgin
Continue to Church of St Mary the Virgin.
Buxton
Continue to Buxton.
Old Courthouse
Continue to Old Courthouse.
Parish Church of St John the Baptist
Continue to Parish Church of St John the Baptist.
Ramsay's Bar
Continue to Ramsay's Bar.
Buxton Railworks
Continue to Buxton Railworks.
Buxton Tap House
Continue to Buxton Tap House.
Nineteenth Hole
Continue to Nineteenth Hole.
Buxton Road
Continue to Buxton Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Bulls Head
Continue to Bulls Head.
Queens
Continue to Queens.
Wheatsheaf
Continue to Wheatsheaf.
Dove Holes C of E Primary School
Continue to Dove Holes C of E Primary School.
St Paul
Continue to St Paul.
Burbage Village Stores
Continue to Burbage Village Stores.
St Anne
Continue to St Anne.
Swan
Continue to Swan.
A Block
Continue to A Block.
F Block
Finish back near F Block, completing the loop.
23 turns
28 turns
19 turns
27 turns
This route is 35.4 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.