Near Chesterfield test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 12 roundabouts, 8 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 25 navigation steps.
This is an independent 43.8 km practice loop near Chesterfield 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.
Along the way you'll meet Bowshaw. 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 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, stations, schools 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 Chesterfield 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 92-step drive on real, named roads (about 43.8 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
74 m
Turn right onto Sheffield Road/B6057.
Sheffield Road247 m
Turn left onto Wharf Lane.
Wharf Lane150 m
Turn left onto Hardwick Street.
Hardwick Street119 m
Turn right onto Sheffield Road/B6057.
Sheffield Road864 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Peveril Road.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Peveril Road.
Peveril Road678 m
Turn right onto Ormsby Road.
Ormsby Road57 m
Turn left onto Park Lane.
Park Lane122 m
Turn left onto Peveril Road.
Peveril Road432 m
Turn right onto Highfield Lane.
Highfield Lane79 m
Turn left onto Chantrey Avenue.
Chantrey Avenue182 m
Turn right onto Malson Way.
Malson Way403 m
Turn right onto Tapton View Road.
Tapton View Road306 m
Turn left onto Highfield Road.
Highfield Road275 m
Turn right onto Rhodes Avenue.
Rhodes Avenue287 m
Turn left onto Tapton View Road.
Tapton View Road157 m
Turn right onto Newbold Road/B6051.
Newbold Road618 m
Turn right onto Newbold Drive.
Newbold Drive117 m
Turn left onto Newbold Avenue.
Newbold Avenue180 m
Turn left onto Highfield Lane.
Highfield Lane141 m
Turn right onto Newbold Road/B6051.
Newbold Road933 m
Turn left onto Helmsley Close.
Helmsley Close15 m
Turn left onto Water Lane.
Water Lane9 m
Turn right to stay on Water Lane.
Water Lane114 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Water Lane.
Water Lane114 m
Turn left to stay on Water Lane.
Water Lane9 m
Turn right onto Helmsley Close.
Helmsley Close15 m
Turn right onto Newbold Road/B6051.
Newbold Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Newbold Drive.
Newbold Drive117 m
Turn left onto Newbold Avenue.
Newbold Avenue180 m
Turn left onto Highfield Lane.
Highfield Lane141 m
Turn right onto Newbold Road/B6051.
Newbold Road391 m
Turn left onto Loundsley Green Road/B6150.
Loundsley Green Road938 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Loundsley Green Road/B6150.
50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Loundsley Green Road/B6150.
Loundsley Green Road867 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Loundsley Green Road/B6150.
132 m
Exit the roundabout onto Loundsley Green Road/B6150.
Loundsley Green Road865 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Pennine Way.
87 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pennine Way.
Pennine Way986 m
Turn right onto Brockwell Lane.
Brockwell Lane1.2 km
Make a sharp right onto Ashgate Road.
Ashgate Road884 m
Turn left onto Churston Road.
Churston Road267 m
Turn left onto Manor Drive.
Manor Drive131 m
Turn left onto Old Hall Road.
Old Hall Road245 m
Turn right onto Ashgate Road.
Ashgate Road1.3 km
Turn right onto Rose Hill East.
Rose Hill East138 m
Turn right onto Rose Hill.
Rose Hill108 m
Turn right onto Rose Hill West.
Rose Hill West127 m
Turn left onto Saltergate.
Saltergate103 m
Turn left onto Clarence Road.
Clarence Road262 m
Turn left onto West Bars.
West Bars529 m
Turn right onto South Place.
South Place103 m
Turn right onto A619/Markham Road.
A619162 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road70 m
Turn right to take the A619 ramp towards Markham Road.
7 m
Take the A619 ramp on the right towards Markham Road.
A619446 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Lordsmill Street.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lordsmill Street.
Lordsmill Street136 m
Turn right onto Hollis Lane.
Hollis Lane105 m
Turn right onto Dixon's Road.
Dixon's Road39 m
Turn right to stay on Dixon's Road.
Dixon's Road17 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Dixon's Road.
Dixon's Road17 m
Turn left to stay on Dixon's Road.
Dixon's Road39 m
Turn left onto Hollis Lane.
Hollis Lane105 m
Turn left onto St Mary's Gate/B6543.
St Mary's Gate138 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hollis Lane/A632.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hollis Lane/A632.
Hollis Lane60 m
Take the A61 exit towards Sheffield.
A612.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A61.
79 m
Exit the roundabout onto A61.
A611.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A61.
86 m
Exit the roundabout onto A61.
A617.9 km
Enter Bowshaw and take the 1st exit onto A61/Chesterfield Road South.
Bowshaw56 m
Exit the roundabout onto A61/Chesterfield Road South.
A611.1 km
Enter Meadowhead Roundabout and take the 4th exit towards Chesterfield.
Meadowhead Roundabout188 m
Exit the roundabout towards Chesterfield.
A611.1 km
Enter Bowshaw and take the 3rd exit onto A61/Unstone-Dronfield By-Pass.
Bowshaw161 m
Exit the roundabout onto A61/Unstone-Dronfield By-Pass.
A615.7 km
Take the exit.
A61518 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto B6057.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto B6057.
B605729 m
Move left.
59 m
Turn right onto Sheffield Road/B6057.
Sheffield Road1.7 km
Turn right onto Station Road/B6052.
Station Road86 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A61.
56 m
Exit the roundabout onto A61.
A611.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Lockoford Lane.
130 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lockoford Lane.
Lockoford Lane346 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Sheffield Road/B6057.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sheffield Road/B6057.
Sheffield Road877 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Chesterfield · Route 3 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.
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 20.0 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.
Christadelphian Hall
Start near Christadelphian Hall.
Stagecoach Bus Depot
Continue to Stagecoach Bus Depot.
St Andrews Church
Continue to St Andrews Church.
Newbold Community Association
Continue to Newbold Community Association.
English
Continue to English.
Woodside Inn
Continue to Woodside Inn.
Loundsley Green Church
Continue to Loundsley Green Church.
Friends' Meeting House
Continue to Friends' Meeting House.
Tony Nails
Continue to Tony Nails.
Chesterfield Coach Station
Continue to Chesterfield Coach Station.
Ragged School Evangelical Church
Continue to Ragged School Evangelical Church.
Brickyard
Continue to Brickyard.
Auto Select
Continue to Auto Select.
Bowshaw
Continue to Bowshaw, taking the junction with good observation.
Chesterfield Road South/Bochum Parkway
Continue to Chesterfield Road South/Bochum Parkway.
Chesterfield Road South/Bus Link Road
Continue to Chesterfield Road South/Bus Link Road.
Howdens Joinery
Continue to Howdens Joinery.
Riverside Garden Centre
Continue to Riverside Garden Centre.
JE James Cycles
Continue to JE James Cycles.
Donkey Derby
Finish back near Donkey Derby, completing the loop.
9 roundabouts · 16 turns
10 roundabouts · 11 turns · 1 set of lights
8 roundabouts · 14 turns · 1 set of lights
11 roundabouts · 8 turns
This route is 43.8 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Chesterfield test centre, not an official DVSA route.