Near Carlisle test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 3 roundabouts, 19 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 25.0 km practice route near Carlisle 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 Hardwicke Circus. 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, 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 pubs, named junctions, shops and churches, 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 Carlisle 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 78-step drive on real, named roads (about 24.9 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
48 m
Turn left onto Port Road Business Park.
Port Road Business Park541 m
Turn left onto Caldcotes/B5307.
Caldcotes158 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Church Street/A595.
8 m
Exit the roundabout onto Church Street/A595. Continue on A595.
A595168 m
Keep right to stay on A595.
A595809 m
Enter Hardwicke Circus and take the 1st exit onto Bridgewater Road/A7.
Hardwicke Circus32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bridgewater Road/A7. Continue on A7.
A7698 m
Turn left onto Etterby Street.
Etterby Street964 m
Keep left to take Etterby Scaur.
Etterby Scaur36 m
Turn left onto Etterby Road.
Etterby Road587 m
Turn right onto Stainton Road.
Stainton Road159 m
Turn left.
41 m
Turn right onto Stainton Road.
Stainton Road177 m
Turn left onto Etterby Road.
Etterby Road587 m
Turn right onto Etterby Scaur.
Etterby Scaur459 m
Turn left onto Eden Street.
Eden Street331 m
Turn right onto Eden Crescent.
Eden Crescent70 m
Turn right onto Etterby Lea Crescent.
Etterby Lea Crescent235 m
Turn right onto Etterby Lea Road.
Etterby Lea Road175 m
Turn right onto Etterby Street.
Etterby Street613 m
Keep left to take Etterby Scaur.
Etterby Scaur36 m
Turn left onto Etterby Road.
Etterby Road587 m
Turn right onto Stainton Road.
Stainton Road159 m
Turn left.
41 m
Turn right onto Stainton Road.
Stainton Road177 m
Turn left onto Etterby Road.
Etterby Road605 m
Turn left onto Kingmoor Road.
Kingmoor Road55 m
Turn right onto Belah Road.
Belah Road662 m
Turn right onto Brackenridge.
Brackenridge228 m
Turn right onto Dene Crescent.
Dene Crescent286 m
Turn left onto Belah Road.
Belah Road89 m
Turn right onto Fernlea Way.
Fernlea Way214 m
Turn right onto Briar Bank.
Briar Bank638 m
Turn right onto Scotland Road/A7.
Scotland Road828 m
Turn left onto Mulcaster Crescent.
Mulcaster Crescent133 m
Turn left onto Knowe Road.
Knowe Road291 m
Turn right onto Lansdowne Crescent.
Lansdowne Crescent69 m
Turn left to stay on Lansdowne Crescent.
Lansdowne Crescent96 m
Turn right onto Knowefield Avenue.
Knowefield Avenue6 m
Turn left onto Lansdowne Crescent.
Lansdowne Crescent150 m
Turn left onto Beechwood Avenue.
Beechwood Avenue85 m
Turn left onto Scotland Road/A7.
Scotland Road248 m
Turn left onto Lansdowne Crescent.
Lansdowne Crescent34 m
Turn right onto Knowe Road.
Knowe Road291 m
Turn right onto Mulcaster Crescent.
Mulcaster Crescent133 m
Turn left onto Scotland Road/A7. Continue on A7.
A7795 m
Enter Hardwicke Circus and take the 4th exit onto Castle Way/A595.
Hardwicke Circus182 m
Exit the roundabout onto Castle Way/A595. Continue on A595.
A595978 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Church Street/A595.
50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Church Street/A595. Continue on A595.
A595168 m
Keep right to stay on A595.
A595809 m
Enter Hardwicke Circus and take the 1st exit onto Bridgewater Road/A7.
Hardwicke Circus32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bridgewater Road/A7. Continue on A7.
A71.1 km
Turn right onto Lansdowne Crescent.
Lansdowne Crescent34 m
Turn right onto Knowe Road.
Knowe Road291 m
Turn right onto Mulcaster Crescent.
Mulcaster Crescent133 m
Turn left onto Scotland Road/A7. Continue on A7.
A7795 m
Enter Hardwicke Circus and take the 4th exit onto Castle Way/A595.
Hardwicke Circus182 m
Exit the roundabout onto Castle Way/A595.
Castle Way136 m
Move left onto West Tower Street.
West Tower Street145 m
Make a sharp right to stay on West Tower Street.
West Tower Street115 m
Turn left onto Dacre Road.
Dacre Road326 m
Turn left onto Devonshire Walk.
Devonshire Walk259 m
Turn left onto Castle Way/A595.
Castle Way561 m
Enter Hardwicke Circus and take the 5th exit onto Castle Way/A595.
Hardwicke Circus266 m
Exit the roundabout onto Castle Way/A595. Continue on A595.
A595745 m
Turn left onto Shaddongate/B5299.
Shaddongate16 m
Move right onto Shaddongate/B5299. Continue on B5299.
B5299629 m
Turn right onto Stanhope Road.
Stanhope Road434 m
Turn left onto Wigton Road/A595.
Wigton Road840 m
Turn right onto Orton Road.
Orton Road123 m
Turn right onto Dalton Avenue.
Dalton Avenue360 m
Turn right onto Creighton Avenue.
Creighton Avenue338 m
Turn left onto Bower Street.
Bower Street331 m
Turn right onto Newtown Road/B5307. Continue on B5307.
B5307495 m
Turn left onto Port Road Business Park.
Port Road Business Park253 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Carlisle · Route 2 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.
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.
Joiners Arms
Start near Joiners Arms.
Jovial Sailor
Continue to Jovial Sailor.
Crown Inn
Continue to Crown Inn.
Hardwicke Circus
Continue to Hardwicke Circus, taking the junction with good observation.
Premier Stores
Continue to Premier Stores.
Redferne Inn
Continue to Redferne Inn.
St Mark's Church
Continue to St Mark's Church.
Stanwix Primary School
Continue to Stanwix Primary School.
Sunrise
Continue to Sunrise.
Ben Stansfield
Continue to Ben Stansfield.
Friends' Meeting House
Continue to Friends' Meeting House.
Seventh Day Adventist Church
Continue to Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Chivers Sports
Continue to Chivers Sports.
Golden Pheasant
Continue to Golden Pheasant.
Choice Furniture
Continue to Choice Furniture.
Ballyhoo Boutique Nursery
Continue to Ballyhoo Boutique Nursery.
Holy Trinity Church
Continue to Holy Trinity Church.
Wigton Road Methodist Church
Continue to Wigton Road Methodist Church.
Domino's
Continue to Domino's.
Lucky Chop Suey House
Finish back near Lucky Chop Suey House, completing the loop.
1 roundabout · 22 turns
4 roundabouts · 18 turns · 5 sets of lights
5 roundabouts · 12 turns · 4 sets of lights
1 roundabout · 23 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 25.0 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Carlisle test centre, not an official DVSA route.