Near Buxton test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 23 turns across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 22.2 km practice route near Buxton test centre, taking roughly 35 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 Trent Avenue and Harpur Hill 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, 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 schools, churches, 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 72-step drive on real, named roads (about 22.1 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 Lane922 m
Turn right onto Temple Road.
Temple Road90 m
Turn right to stay on Temple Road.
Temple Road446 m
Turn right onto College Road.
College Road67 m
Turn left onto Spencer Road.
Spencer Road294 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane266 m
Turn right onto Robertson Road.
Robertson Road238 m
Turn left onto Spencer Road.
Spencer Road79 m
Turn left onto College Road.
College Road282 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane527 m
Turn right onto Temple Road.
Temple Road90 m
Turn right to stay on Temple Road.
Temple Road446 m
Turn right onto College Road.
College Road67 m
Turn left onto Spencer Road.
Spencer Road513 m
Turn left onto Mosley Road.
Mosley Road82 m
Turn left onto A515/London Road.
A515232 m
Turn right onto Dale Road/B5059.
Dale Road509 m
Turn left onto Peveril Road.
Peveril Road162 m
Turn left onto Clifton Road.
Clifton Road130 m
Turn left onto Hardwick Square South.
Hardwick Square South144 m
Turn left onto Darwin Avenue.
Darwin Avenue203 m
Turn right onto Dale Road/B5059.
Dale Road72 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road142 m
Turn right onto South Avenue.
South Avenue98 m
Turn left onto Hardwick Square South.
Hardwick Square South186 m
Turn left onto Market Street.
Market Street68 m
Turn left onto South Avenue.
South Avenue219 m
Turn right onto Hardwick Square South.
Hardwick Square South178 m
Turn left onto Holker Road.
Holker Road229 m
Turn left onto Holker Avenue.
Holker Avenue45 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Holker Avenue.
Holker Avenue45 m
Turn left onto Holker Road.
Holker Road53 m
Turn right onto Spring Gardens.
Spring Gardens86 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A53/Bridge Street.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Bridge Street.
A5347 m
Turn right to stay on Bridge Street.
Bridge Street21 m
Turn left to stay on Bridge Street.
Bridge Street14 m
Turn left to stay on Bridge Street.
Bridge Street24 m
Turn right.
9 m
Make a right U-turn.
9 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street24 m
Turn right to stay on Bridge Street.
Bridge Street14 m
Make a right U-turn at Bridge Street onto A53/Bridge Street.
A5375 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Charles Street.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Charles Street.
Charles Street222 m
Turn left onto Lightwood Road.
Lightwood Road766 m
Turn left onto Corbar Road.
Corbar Road605 m
Turn right onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road11 m
Turn left onto Manchester Road/A5004.
Manchester Road319 m
Move right to stay on A5004.
A500453 m
Turn right onto A53/St John's Road. Continue on A53.
A531.6 km
Turn left onto Holmfield.
Holmfield239 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane1.6 km
Move left onto A515/High Street.
A515223 m
Turn left onto Chapel Street.
Chapel Street50 m
Turn left onto Torr Street.
Torr Street130 m
Turn left onto Bath Road.
Bath Road62 m
Turn right onto A515/High Street. Continue on A515.
A5152.9 km
Turn right onto Heathfield Nook Road.
Heathfield Nook Road628 m
Turn right onto Burlow Road.
Burlow Road921 m
Move right onto Harpur Hill Road.
Harpur Hill Road511 m
Turn right onto Berwick Road.
Berwick Road700 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Harpur Hill Road.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harpur Hill Road.
Harpur Hill Road390 m
Turn left onto Berwick Road.
Berwick Road315 m
Turn left onto Hereford Road.
Hereford Road244 m
Turn left onto Berwick Road.
Berwick Road83 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Harpur Hill Road.
52 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harpur Hill Road.
Harpur Hill Road295 m
Turn left onto A515/Ashbourne Road. Continue on A515.
A515791 m
Make a sharp left onto Green Lane.
Green Lane916 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Buxton · Route 22 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.
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 5.7 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 (30, 40, 50 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.
A Block
Start near A Block.
F Block
Continue to F Block.
Buxton Community Church
Continue to Buxton Community Church.
Church of St Mary the Virgin
Continue to Church of St Mary the Virgin.
Buxton Infant School
Continue to Buxton Infant School.
Railway
Continue to Railway.
Trinity Church
Continue to Trinity Church.
Buxton Railworks
Continue to Buxton Railworks.
Old Clubhouse
Continue to Old Clubhouse.
Parish Church of St John the Baptist
Continue to Parish Church of St John the Baptist.
Christ Church Burbage
Continue to Christ Church Burbage.
Poole's Cavern
Continue to Poole's Cavern.
Ale Stop
Continue to Ale Stop.
Buxton Methodist Church
Continue to Buxton Methodist Church.
St Anne
Continue to St Anne.
Pets Corner
Continue to Pets Corner.
Harpurs Plaice
Continue to Harpurs Plaice.
St James
Continue to St James.
Trent Avenue
Continue to Trent Avenue, taking the junction with good observation.
Harpur Hill Road
Finish back near Harpur Hill Road, completing the loop.
23 turns
28 turns
20 turns
19 turns
This route is 22.2 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Buxton test centre, not an official DVSA route.