Near Cardigan test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts and 16 turns across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 59.3 km practice route near Cardigan test centre, taking roughly 25 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 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, 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 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 94-step drive on real, named roads (about 59.3 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 right onto Stryd y Castell / Castle Street/B4546. Continue on B4546.
B4546483 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A487.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto A487.
A487784 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Pont-y-Cleifion.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pont-y-Cleifion.
Pont-y-Cleifion286 m
Move left onto Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street.
Stryd y Priordy / Priory Street203 m
Turn right onto Pendre.
Pendre220 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 Street47 m
Turn right onto Pwllhai.
Pwllhai163 m
Turn right onto Stryd Fawr / High Street.
Stryd Fawr / High Street4 m
Turn left onto College Row.
College Row74 m
Turn left onto Greenfield Square.
Greenfield Square201 m
Turn right onto Rhodfa'r Felin.
Rhodfa'r Felin17 m
Move right onto Bath House Road.
Bath House Road55 m
Turn left onto Pendre.
Pendre64 m
Turn right onto Feidrfair.
Feidrfair143 m
Turn right onto William Street.
William Street145 m
Turn right onto Pendre.
Pendre159 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 2nd exit onto A484.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto A484.
A48410.2 km
Turn left.
2.4 km
Turn left.
531 m
Turn right onto A484.
A4846.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A487.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto A487.
A487785 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A478.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto A478.
A4782.6 km
Turn left onto Feidr Fawr.
Feidr Fawr1.7 km
Turn left onto Sgwâr y Castell / Castle Square.
Sgwâr y Castell / Castle Square758 m
Turn left onto Church Street.
Church Street29 m
Turn right onto Feidr Fawr.
Feidr Fawr1.1 km
Turn right onto A478.
A4782.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A487.
64 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 Road849 m
Turn left onto Maes-yr-Haf.
Maes-yr-Haf98 m
Turn left to stay on Maes-yr-Haf.
Maes-yr-Haf513 m
Turn left onto Feidr Henffordd.
Feidr Henffordd88 m
Turn right onto Aberystwyth Road/B4548.
Aberystwyth Road87 m
Turn left onto Ger-y-Meini.
Ger-y-Meini40 m
Turn right onto Aberystwyth Road/B4548.
Aberystwyth Road70 m
Turn left onto Feidr Henffordd.
Feidr Henffordd88 m
Turn right onto Maes-Henffordd.
Maes-Henffordd117 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Cardigan · Route 9 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.
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 3.5 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, 40, 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.
Capel Degwel
Start near Capel Degwel.
Capel Mair
Continue to Capel Mair.
Cove
Continue to Cove.
Finch's Square, Cardigan
Continue to Finch's Square, Cardigan.
Mount Zion Baptist Church
Continue to Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Bethania Baptist Chapel
Continue to Bethania Baptist Chapel.
Hair Lounge 4 Men
Continue to Hair Lounge 4 Men.
Cellar Bar
Continue to Cellar Bar.
Saddlers Arms
Continue to Saddlers Arms.
Ali's Tandoori
Continue to Ali's Tandoori.
Lamb Inn
Continue to Lamb Inn.
Coracle Fish & Chips
Continue to Coracle Fish & Chips.
Robert Davies Motors
Continue to Robert Davies Motors.
St Tydfil
Continue to St Tydfil.
St. Llawddog
Continue to St. Llawddog.
Ysgol Gynradd Wirfoddol Cilgerran
Continue to Ysgol Gynradd Wirfoddol Cilgerran.
Penybryn Baptist Chapel
Continue to Penybryn Baptist Chapel.
Aldi
Continue to Aldi.
Mair o Aberteifi / Our Lady of the Taper
Continue to Mair o Aberteifi / Our Lady of the Taper.
Rigby Ground
Finish back near Rigby Ground, completing the loop.
3 roundabouts · 23 turns
3 roundabouts · 16 turns
4 roundabouts · 15 turns
3 roundabouts · 23 turns
This route is 59.3 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Cardigan test centre, not an official DVSA route.