Near Cardigan test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts and 15 turns across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 51.8 km practice loop near Cardigan 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, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads and independent driving. 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, pubs, stations 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 Cardigan 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 100-step drive on real, named roads (about 51.8 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast.
9 m
Turn right onto Napier Street.
Napier Street128 m
Turn right to stay on Napier Street.
Napier Street90 m
Turn left onto Feidrfair.
Feidrfair115 m
Turn right onto Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street.
Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street47 m
Turn left onto Stryd Morgan / Morgan Street.
Stryd Morgan / Morgan Street127 m
Turn left onto Carrier's Lane.
Carrier's Lane76 m
Move right onto Strand.
Strand116 m
Turn left onto Castle Street.
Castle Street126 m
Turn right onto Castle Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45461.6 km
Turn right onto Feidr Fawr/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45463.0 km
Turn left.
119 m
Turn left.
157 m
Move left.
193 m
Move left.
23 m
Move left.
29 m
Turn left.
30 m
Make a sharp left.
411 m
Turn right.
119 m
Turn right onto B4546.
B45463.0 km
Turn left onto High Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45461.6 km
Turn left onto Castle Street.
Castle Street126 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street42 m
Move right onto Heol y Bont / Bridge Street.
Heol y Bont / Bridge Street884 m
Turn left onto Gwbert Road/B4548.
Gwbert Road1.2 km
Turn right onto Verwig Road.
Verwig Road3.3 km
Turn left.
1.0 km
Turn left.
918 m
Turn left.
718 m
Turn right onto Verwig Road.
Verwig Road699 m
Turn left onto Gwbert Road/B4548.
Gwbert Road706 m
Turn left onto Cnwc y Dintir.
Cnwc y Dintir14 m
Turn right to stay on Cnwc y Dintir.
Cnwc y Dintir152 m
Turn right onto Maesglas.
Maesglas397 m
Turn right onto Aberystwyth Road/B4548.
Aberystwyth Road526 m
Turn left onto Feidrfair.
Feidrfair268 m
Turn right onto Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street.
Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street47 m
Turn left onto Stryd Morgan / Morgan Street.
Stryd Morgan / Morgan Street127 m
Turn left onto Carrier's Lane.
Carrier's Lane76 m
Move right onto Strand.
Strand116 m
Turn left onto Castle Street.
Castle Street126 m
Turn right onto Castle Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45461.6 km
Turn right onto Feidr Fawr/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45463.0 km
Turn left.
119 m
Turn left.
157 m
Move left.
193 m
Move left.
23 m
Move left.
29 m
Turn left.
30 m
Make a sharp left.
411 m
Turn right.
119 m
Turn right onto B4546.
B45463.0 km
Turn left onto High Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45461.6 km
Turn left onto Castle Street.
Castle Street126 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street42 m
Move right onto Heol y Bont / Bridge Street.
Heol y Bont / Bridge Street266 m
Turn right onto Pwllhai.
Pwllhai247 m
Turn left onto Stryd y Santes Fair / St Mary Street.
Stryd y Santes Fair / St Mary Street42 m
Move left onto Finch's Square.
Finch's Square36 m
Turn right to stay on Finch's Square.
Finch's Square270 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A487.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto A487.
A487785 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto B4546.
71 m
Exit the roundabout onto B4546.
B4546609 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street42 m
Move right onto Heol y Bont / Bridge Street.
Heol y Bont / Bridge Street506 m
Turn right onto Feidrfair.
Feidrfair268 m
Turn right onto Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street.
Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street47 m
Turn left onto Stryd Morgan / Morgan Street.
Stryd Morgan / Morgan Street127 m
Turn left onto Carrier's Lane.
Carrier's Lane76 m
Move right onto Strand.
Strand116 m
Turn left onto Castle Street.
Castle Street126 m
Turn right onto Castle Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45461.6 km
Turn right onto Feidr Fawr/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45463.0 km
Turn left.
119 m
Turn left.
157 m
Move left.
193 m
Move left.
23 m
Move left.
29 m
Turn left.
30 m
Make a sharp left.
411 m
Turn right.
119 m
Turn right onto B4546.
B45463.0 km
Turn left onto High Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B45461.6 km
Turn left onto Castle Street.
Castle Street126 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street42 m
Move right onto Heol y Bont / Bridge Street.
Heol y Bont / Bridge Street266 m
Turn right onto Pwllhai.
Pwllhai247 m
Turn left onto Stryd y Santes Fair / St Mary Street.
Stryd y Santes Fair / St Mary Street42 m
Move left onto Finch's Square.
Finch's Square36 m
Turn right to stay on Finch's Square.
Finch's Square270 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A487.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto A487.
A487785 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A487.
92 m
Exit the roundabout onto A487.
A487784 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A487.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto A487.
A487907 m
Turn left onto Aberystwyth Road/B4548.
Aberystwyth Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Napier Street.
Napier Street65 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Cardigan · Route 1 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.
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 2.8 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 (20, 30, 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.
Bethsaida Bed & Breakfast
Start near Bethsaida Bed & Breakfast.
Capel Degwel
Continue to Capel Degwel.
Capel Mair
Continue to Capel Mair.
Cove
Continue to Cove.
Cellar Bar
Continue to Cellar Bar.
Tabernacl Calvinistic Methodist
Continue to Tabernacl Calvinistic Methodist.
Wine Bar Cardigan
Continue to Wine Bar Cardigan.
Capel Siloam
Continue to Capel Siloam.
Mair o Aberteifi / Our Lady of the Taper
Continue to Mair o Aberteifi / Our Lady of the Taper.
Rigby Ground
Continue to Rigby Ground.
Bethania Baptist Chapel
Continue to Bethania Baptist Chapel.
Cardi Laundrette
Continue to Cardi Laundrette.
Finch's Square, Cardigan
Continue to Finch's Square, Cardigan.
Santes Fair / St Mary's
Continue to Santes Fair / St Mary's.
Crafter's Cwtch
Continue to Crafter's Cwtch.
Trin Gwallt Cropad Hair Salon
Continue to Trin Gwallt Cropad Hair Salon.
LBS Builders Merchants
Continue to LBS Builders Merchants.
Tesco
Continue to Tesco.
Aldi
Continue to Aldi.
Brondesbury Park Garden Centre
Finish back near Brondesbury Park Garden Centre, completing the loop.
3 roundabouts · 23 turns
3 roundabouts · 16 turns
2 roundabouts · 16 turns
3 roundabouts · 23 turns
This route is 51.8 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Cardigan test centre, not an official DVSA route.