Near Chelmsford test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 9 roundabouts, 5 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 20 navigation steps.
This is an independent 48.1 km practice route near Chelmsford 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.
Along the way you'll meet Stock Road Interchange. 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, 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, parks, 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 Chelmsford 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 119-step drive on real, named roads (about 48.1 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast.
135 m
Turn left onto Moulsham Street.
Moulsham Street120 m
Turn right onto New London Road/B1007.
New London Road1.4 km
Enter Market Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Market Roundabout55 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway206 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway482 m
Move right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway18 m
Keep right to take A1016.
A1016429 m
Keep right to stay on A1016.
A1016110 m
Take the exit on the right.
Rectory Lane406 m
Enter New Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hoffmanns Way.
New Street Roundabout28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hoffmanns Way.
Hoffmanns Way346 m
Turn left to stay on Hoffmanns Way.
Hoffmanns Way14 m
Turn right.
13 m
Turn right.
23 m
Make a right U-turn.
23 m
Turn left.
13 m
Turn left onto Hoffmanns Way.
Hoffmanns Way14 m
Turn right to stay on Hoffmanns Way.
Hoffmanns Way338 m
Enter New Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Rectory Lane/B1008.
New Street Roundabout32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Rectory Lane/B1008.
Rectory Lane353 m
Move left onto Parkway/A1016.
Parkway555 m
Keep left to take Parkway/A1060.
Parkway345 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway346 m
Enter Market Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Market Roundabout66 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway552 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway51 m
Enter Odeon Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Odeon Roundabout59 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway361 m
Move right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway97 m
Enter Army & Navy Roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Army & Navy Roundabout166 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway447 m
Enter Odeon Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Odeon Roundabout64 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway256 m
Keep left to stay on Parkway.
Parkway73 m
Move left onto New London Road/B1007.
New London Road929 m
Turn right onto Writtle Road.
Writtle Road357 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Writtle Road.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto Writtle Road.
Writtle Road217 m
Turn right onto Waterhouse Street.
Waterhouse Street227 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Waterhouse Street.
Waterhouse Street226 m
Turn right onto Writtle Road.
Writtle Road119 m
Turn left onto Westway/A1016.
Westway701 m
Enter Britvic Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto London Road/A1114.
Britvic Roundabout4 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A1114. Continue on A1114.
A1114532 m
Enter Miami Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto London Road/A1114.
Miami Roundabout146 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A1114. Continue on A1114.
A1114537 m
Enter Britvic Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto London Road/A1114.
Britvic Roundabout50 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A1114.
London Road135 m
Enter Widford Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto London Road/A1114.
Widford Roundabout111 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/A1114.
London Road143 m
Enter Britvic Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Westway/A1016.
Britvic Roundabout14 m
Exit the roundabout onto Westway/A1016. Continue on A1016.
A10162.2 km
Move left onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway18 m
Keep right to take A1016.
A1016429 m
Keep right to stay on A1016.
A1016472 m
Keep left to take Chelmer Valley Road/A1016.
Chelmer Valley Road1.1 km
Enter Springfield Hall Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Valley Bridge.
Springfield Hall Roundabout2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Valley Bridge.
Valley Bridge340 m
Turn right onto Broomfield Road/B1008. Continue on B1008.
B10081.5 km
Turn left onto Church Green.
Church Green64 m
Turn left to stay on Church Green.
Church Green61 m
Turn right onto Main Road/B1008. Continue on B1008.
B10081.4 km
Turn left onto Valley Bridge.
Valley Bridge372 m
Enter Springfield Hall Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Chelmer Valley Road/A1016.
Springfield Hall Roundabout37 m
Exit the roundabout onto Chelmer Valley Road/A1016.
Chelmer Valley Road1.4 km
Keep right to stay on A1016.
A1016650 m
Keep left to take Parkway/A1060.
Parkway345 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway346 m
Enter Market Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Market Roundabout66 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway243 m
Turn right onto New London Road/B1007. Continue on B1007.
B10071.4 km
Turn left onto Moulsham Street/B1007.
Moulsham Street21 m
Enter Miami Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Wood Street/B1007.
Miami Roundabout58 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wood Street/B1007.
Wood Street906 m
Turn right onto Galleywood Road/B1007. Continue on B1007.
B10071.9 km
Turn right onto Margaretting Road.
Margaretting Road3.8 km
Turn right onto Main Road/B1002.
Main Road735 m
Enter Whites Place Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A414/Webbs Farm Interchange.
Whites Place Roundabout23 m
Exit the roundabout onto A414/Webbs Farm Interchange.
A414152 m
Enter Three Mile Hill Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A12.
Three Mile Hill Roundabout96 m
Exit the roundabout onto A12/E 30/Chelmsford Bypass.
A122.6 km
Take exit 16.
A12428 m
Enter Stock Road Interchange and take the 1st exit onto Stock Road/B1007.
Stock Road Interchange14 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stock Road/B1007. Continue on B1007.
B10072.6 km
Keep left to take Galleywood Road/B1007.
Galleywood Road548 m
Turn left onto Wood Street/B1007.
Wood Street895 m
Enter Miami Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Moulsham Street/B1007.
Miami Roundabout45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Moulsham Street/B1007.
B10071.6 km
Enter Market Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Market Roundabout159 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway552 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway51 m
Enter Odeon Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Odeon Roundabout59 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway361 m
Move right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway97 m
Enter Army & Navy Roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Army & Navy Roundabout166 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway447 m
Enter Odeon Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Parkway/A1060.
Odeon Roundabout64 m
Exit the roundabout onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway256 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway353 m
Enter Market Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Victoria Road South/A1099.
Market Roundabout102 m
Exit the roundabout onto Victoria Road South/A1099.
Victoria Road South285 m
Turn left onto Duke Street/A1099. Continue on Duke Street.
Duke Street35 m
Turn left.
72 m
Make a right U-turn.
72 m
Turn right onto Duke Street.
Duke Street517 m
Turn right onto Bellmead.
Bellmead256 m
Turn left onto Parkway/A1060.
Parkway524 m
Keep right to stay on Parkway/A1060.
Parkway51 m
Enter Odeon Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto High Bridge Road/A1099.
Odeon Roundabout9 m
Exit the roundabout onto High Bridge Road/A1099.
High Bridge Road381 m
Enter Kings Meadow Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Springfield Road/A1099.
Kings Meadow Roundabout39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Springfield Road/A1099.
Springfield Road345 m
Turn left onto Victoria Road/A1099.
Victoria Road587 m
Turn right onto New Street/B1008.
New Street407 m
Enter New Street Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Hoffmanns Way.
New Street Roundabout56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hoffmanns Way.
Hoffmanns Way346 m
Turn right to stay on Hoffmanns Way.
Hoffmanns Way14 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Chelmsford · Route 14 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.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
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 3.0 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, 50, 60, 70 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.
Christ Church
Start near Christ Church.
Our Lady Immaculate
Continue to Our Lady Immaculate.
Central Park Memorial Gardens
Continue to Central Park Memorial Gardens.
Chelmsford Mosque
Continue to Chelmsford Mosque.
Salvation Army
Continue to Salvation Army.
Pearce Manor Park
Continue to Pearce Manor Park.
Brethren Church
Continue to Brethren Church.
Nissan
Continue to Nissan.
Broomfield Methodist Church
Continue to Broomfield Methodist Church.
Kings Arms
Continue to Kings Arms.
Prima Master Dry Cleaners
Continue to Prima Master Dry Cleaners.
Rising Sun
Continue to Rising Sun.
Rates Galleywood
Continue to Rates Galleywood.
Margaretting Pond Park
Continue to Margaretting Pond Park.
Black Bull
Continue to Black Bull.
Stock Road Interchange
Continue to Stock Road Interchange, taking the junction with good observation.
Eagle
Continue to Eagle.
Co-op Food
Continue to Co-op Food.
Chelmsford Central Baptist Church
Continue to Chelmsford Central Baptist Church.
Wheatsheaf
Finish back near Wheatsheaf, completing the loop.
12 roundabouts · 4 turns · 2 sets of lights
12 roundabouts · 5 turns · 2 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 13 turns · 3 sets of lights
14 roundabouts · 4 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 48.1 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Chelmsford test centre, not an official DVSA route.