Near Buxton test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 25 turns across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 21.5 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 Cavendish Avenue. 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 schools, named junctions, 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 74-step drive on real, named roads (about 21.4 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 Lane1.4 km
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 Avenue447 m
Turn right onto Temple Road.
Temple Road90 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane479 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 Road388 m
Turn left onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Duke Street.
Duke Street103 m
Move left onto Green Lane.
Green Lane119 m
Turn left 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 1st exit onto Cavendish Avenue.
47 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cavendish Avenue.
Cavendish Avenue130 m
Turn right onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road840 m
Turn left onto Bath Road.
Bath Road309 m
Turn right onto A515/High Street.
A515101 m
Turn right onto West Road/B5059.
West Road314 m
Turn right onto Bath Road.
Bath Road32 m
Move left onto Burlington Road.
Burlington Road495 m
Turn left onto A53/St John's Road.
A531.0 km
Turn left.
29 m
Turn right onto Macclesfield Road/B5059.
Macclesfield Road91 m
Make a sharp right onto A53/St John's Road.
A53854 m
Turn left onto Carlisle Road.
Carlisle Road543 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road229 m
Turn right to stay on Park Road.
Park Road615 m
Turn right to stay on Park Road.
Park Road132 m
Turn left onto Manchester Road/A5004.
Manchester Road673 m
Turn left onto Park Road.
Park Road284 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 Road177 m
Turn left onto Marlborough Road.
Marlborough Road240 m
Turn right onto Corbar Road.
Corbar Road459 m
Turn right onto Lightwood Road.
Lightwood Road767 m
Turn right onto Charles Street.
Charles Street222 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A53/Bridge Street.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Bridge Street.
A5353 m
Turn left 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 2nd exit onto A53/Station Road.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto A53/Station Road.
A53412 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A515/The Quadrant.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto A515/The Quadrant. Continue on A515.
A5151.6 km
Move left onto Duke's Drive.
Duke's Drive1.7 km
Turn left onto A6.
A623 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Dale Road/B5059.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dale Road/B5059.
Dale Road596 m
Turn right onto Market Street.
Market Street187 m
Turn left onto South Street.
South Street99 m
Turn left onto A515/High Street.
A515248 m
Move right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane916 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Buxton · Route 6 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 4.4 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.
F Block
Continue to F Block.
Cavendish Avenue
Continue to Cavendish Avenue, taking the junction with good observation.
Poole's Cavern
Continue to Poole's Cavern.
Burbage Village Stores
Continue to Burbage Village Stores.
Cheshire Cheese
Continue to Cheshire Cheese.
St Anne
Continue to St Anne.
Five Ways Laundrette
Continue to Five Ways Laundrette.
London Road
Continue to London Road.
Ramsay's Bar
Continue to Ramsay's Bar.
Christ Church Burbage
Continue to Christ Church Burbage.
Henley's Barber
Continue to Henley's Barber.
Railway
Continue to Railway.
Buxton
Continue to Buxton.
Seasons
Continue to Seasons.
Buxton Community Church
Continue to Buxton Community Church.
Church in the Peak Buxton
Continue to Church in the Peak Buxton.
Saint Anne's Catholic Church
Continue to Saint Anne's Catholic Church.
Blazing Rag
Continue to Blazing Rag.
Tesco Express
Finish back near Tesco Express, completing the loop.
23 turns
28 turns
20 turns
19 turns
This route is 21.5 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.