Near Cheetham Hill test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 20 turns and 15 signalled junctions across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.6 km practice loop near Cheetham Hill test centre, taking roughly 40 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 dual-carriageway joins, 20 mph zones, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads, independent driving 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 shops, churches, schools and stations, 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 Cheetham Hill 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 89-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast on Alderglen Road.
Alderglen Road268 m
Turn left onto Heywood Street.
Heywood Street529 m
Turn left onto Brideoak Street.
Brideoak Street226 m
Turn left onto Waterloo Road/B6180.
Waterloo Road744 m
Turn left onto Allison Street.
Allison Street149 m
Turn left onto Cheetwood Road.
Cheetwood Road270 m
Turn left onto A6010/Elizabeth Street.
A6010156 m
Turn left onto Waterloo Road/B6180.
Waterloo Road277 m
Turn left onto Allison Street.
Allison Street149 m
Turn right onto Cheetwood Road.
Cheetwood Road170 m
Turn right onto Broughton Street.
Broughton Street201 m
Turn right onto Waterloo Road/B6180.
Waterloo Road500 m
Turn right onto A6010/Elizabeth Street.
A6010156 m
Turn right onto Cheetwood Road.
Cheetwood Road270 m
Turn right onto Allison Street.
Allison Street149 m
Turn left onto Waterloo Road/B6180.
Waterloo Road514 m
Turn left to stay on Waterloo Road/B6180.
Waterloo Road93 m
Turn left onto A56/Bury New Road.
A56102 m
Turn right onto Harris Street.
Harris Street135 m
Turn left onto Overbridge Road.
Overbridge Road31 m
Turn left onto Cheetwood Street.
Cheetwood Street121 m
Turn left onto A56/Bury New Road.
A561.1 km
Turn right onto A576/Great Cheetham Street East. Continue on Great Cheetham Street East.
Great Cheetham Street East449 m
Turn left to stay on Great Cheetham Street East.
Great Cheetham Street East249 m
Turn left onto Norton Street.
Norton Street525 m
Turn right onto A576/Great Cheetham Street East. Continue on A576.
A576645 m
Turn left onto Great Clowes Street/A5066.
Great Clowes Street64 m
Keep left to stay on Great Clowes Street/A5066.
Great Clowes Street203 m
Turn right onto Camp Street/B6186.
Camp Street519 m
Turn right onto Grecian Street.
Grecian Street163 m
Turn right onto Albert Park Road.
Albert Park Road405 m
Turn right onto Camp Street/B6186.
Camp Street305 m
Turn right onto Grecian Street.
Grecian Street163 m
Turn right onto Albert Park Road.
Albert Park Road277 m
Turn right onto Vernon Street.
Vernon Street128 m
Turn right onto Camp Street/B6186.
Camp Street305 m
Turn right onto Grecian Street.
Grecian Street229 m
Turn left onto Corinthian Avenue.
Corinthian Avenue179 m
Turn left onto Lower Broughton Road.
Lower Broughton Road165 m
Keep right to stay on Lower Broughton Road.
Lower Broughton Road86 m
Turn left onto Camp Street/B6186.
Camp Street669 m
Turn right onto Great Clowes Street/A5066.
A50661.2 km
Turn right onto St Stephen Street.
St Stephen Street273 m
Turn left.
4 m
Make a right U-turn.
4 m
Turn left onto St Stephen Street.
St Stephen Street342 m
Turn left onto A6/Chapel Street.
A630 m
Turn left onto A34/Trinity Way.
A341.3 km
Turn right onto A665/Cheetham Hill Road. Continue on Cheetham Hill Road.
Cheetham Hill Road223 m
Turn left onto A665/Corporation Street. Continue on A665.
A665527 m
Turn right.
42 m
Turn left onto Cable Street.
Cable Street50 m
Turn left onto Mason Street.
Mason Street41 m
Turn right onto A665/Addington Street.
A665175 m
Turn right onto A62/Oldham Road.
A6242 m
Keep left to take A665/Oldham Road.
A665756 m
Turn right onto Store Street.
Store Street428 m
Turn left onto Boad Street.
Boad Street356 m
Turn right onto Travis Street.
Travis Street152 m
Move right onto Fairfield Street/B6469. Continue on B6469.
B6469558 m
Turn right onto Sackville Street.
Sackville Street303 m
Turn left onto Portland Street/A5103.
Portland Street94 m
Turn right onto Princess Street/A34.
Princess Street74 m
Turn right onto St James Street.
St James Street72 m
Turn left onto Nicholas Street.
Nicholas Street178 m
Turn left onto Cooper Street.
Cooper Street76 m
Turn left onto Princess Street/A34.
Princess Street207 m
Turn left onto Faulkner Street.
Faulkner Street74 m
Turn left onto Nicholas Street.
Nicholas Street208 m
Turn left onto Cooper Street.
Cooper Street76 m
Turn right onto Princess Street/A34. Continue on A34.
A34984 m
Turn right onto Chapel Street/A6.
Chapel Street642 m
Keep left to stay on Blackfriars Road/A6041.
Blackfriars Road107 m
Turn left onto A34/Trinity Way.
A34460 m
Turn left onto Chapel Street/A6. Continue on Chapel Street.
Chapel Street739 m
Turn right onto Victoria Bridge Street.
Victoria Bridge Street125 m
Turn right onto Deansgate/A56.
Deansgate142 m
Turn right onto Blackfriars Street/A6.
Blackfriars Street512 m
Keep left to stay on Blackfriars Road/A6041.
Blackfriars Road1.9 km
Keep right to take Great Clowes Street/A5066.
Great Clowes Street64 m
Turn right onto A576/Great Cheetham Street West.
A576296 m
Turn right onto A56/Bury New Road.
A56259 m
Turn right onto Upper Camp Street/B6186.
Upper Camp Street246 m
Turn left onto Great Clowes Street/A5066.
Great Clowes Street347 m
Turn left onto Broughton Lane.
Broughton Lane619 m
Move left onto Waterloo Road/B6180.
Waterloo Road830 m
Turn right onto Alderglen Road.
Alderglen Road34 m
Keep left to stay on Alderglen Road.
Alderglen Road164 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Cheetham Hill · Route 16 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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 6.8 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.
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.
V.I.P's Barbers
Start near V.I.P's Barbers.
Glossy
Continue to Glossy.
Holy Order of Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church
Continue to Holy Order of Cherubim & Seraphim Movement Church.
Global Vape Hub
Continue to Global Vape Hub.
Saint James' Church
Continue to Saint James' Church.
Beis Ruchel Girls School
Continue to Beis Ruchel Girls School.
Friars Primary School
Continue to Friars Primary School.
Manchester Bikes
Continue to Manchester Bikes.
Faith Life Centre
Continue to Faith Life Centre.
Manchester Chinese Christian Church
Continue to Manchester Chinese Christian Church.
Eternal Life Sanctuary
Continue to Eternal Life Sanctuary.
Manchester Piccadilly
Continue to Manchester Piccadilly.
Chorlton Street
Continue to Chorlton Street.
St. Peter's Square
Continue to St. Peter's Square.
Salford Central
Continue to Salford Central.
Egerton Arms
Continue to Egerton Arms.
Black Lion Pub
Continue to Black Lion Pub.
Gentz Barbers
Continue to Gentz Barbers.
Gordon Bennett International
Continue to Gordon Bennett International.
St Clement with St Matthias
Finish back near St Clement with St Matthias, completing the loop.
2 roundabouts · 20 turns · 9 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 18 turns · 12 sets of lights
1 roundabout · 14 turns · 11 sets of lights
1 roundabout · 18 turns · 11 sets of lights
This route is 27.6 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Cheetham Hill test centre, not an official DVSA route.