Near Chippenham test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 15 roundabouts, 10 turns and 1 signalled junction across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 24.4 km practice route near Chippenham test centre, taking roughly 45 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 Bumpers Farm, Cepen Park South and Chequers Roundabout. 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, 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 named junctions, shops, pubs 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 Chippenham 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 96-step drive on real, named roads (about 24.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive north.
23 m
Turn right.
39 m
Turn left onto Bumpers Way.
Bumpers Way765 m
Enter Bumpers Farm and take the 1st exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Bumpers Farm17 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350340 m
Keep right to stay on A350/West Cepen Way.
A3501.5 km
Keep right to stay on A350/West Cepen Way.
A350290 m
Enter Cepen Park South and take the 2nd exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Cepen Park South59 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350264 m
Enter Chequers Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road/A4.
Chequers Roundabout34 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road216 m
Enter Methuen Park and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road.
Methuen Park62 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road.
Bath Road495 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road/A4.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road125 m
Keep straight to stay on Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road1.3 km
Keep left to stay on A4.
A4240 m
Turn left onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road18 m
Enter Bridge Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Bath Road.
Bridge Roundabout134 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road.
Bath Road39 m
Turn left to stay on Bath Road.
Bath Road134 m
Turn left onto The Bridge.
The Bridge253 m
Turn left onto Ivy Lane/A420.
Ivy Lane285 m
Enter Bridge Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Bath Road/A4.
Bridge Roundabout145 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road/A4. Continue on A4.
A4200 m
Keep right to take Rowden Hill/A4.
Rowden Hill100 m
Keep left to stay on A4.
A41.3 km
Keep right to take Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road126 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Saltersford Lane/B4528.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Saltersford Lane/B4528.
Saltersford Lane711 m
Turn left to stay on Saltersford Lane/B4528.
Saltersford Lane91 m
Turn left onto B4643.
B4643889 m
Turn right onto Coppice Close.
Coppice Close206 m
Move right onto Rowden Lane.
Rowden Lane31 m
Turn right to stay on Rowden Lane.
Rowden Lane1.5 km
Move left onto Coppice Close.
Coppice Close206 m
Turn right onto B4643.
B4643117 m
Turn right onto Rowden Hill/A4.
Rowden Hill266 m
Turn left onto Lowden.
Lowden558 m
Turn left onto Palmer Street.
Palmer Street184 m
Turn right onto Ladyfield Road.
Ladyfield Road102 m
Turn left onto Sheldon Road.
Sheldon Road357 m
Keep left to stay on Sheldon Road.
Sheldon Road184 m
Turn right onto Hungerdown Lane/B4528.
Hungerdown Lane351 m
Turn right onto Brook Street.
Brook Street564 m
Turn left onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road159 m
Turn right onto Canterbury Street.
Canterbury Street256 m
Turn left onto Audley Road.
Audley Road87 m
Turn left onto Downing Street.
Downing Street18 m
Keep left to stay on Downing Street.
Downing Street209 m
Turn left onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road80 m
Turn left onto Canterbury Street.
Canterbury Street351 m
Turn left onto Loyalty Street.
Loyalty Street114 m
Turn left onto Audley Road.
Audley Road117 m
Keep right to stay on Audley Road.
Audley Road5 m
Turn left onto Canterbury Street.
Canterbury Street257 m
Turn left onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road260 m
Turn left onto Loyalty Street.
Loyalty Street83 m
Turn left onto Marshall Street.
Marshall Street223 m
Turn left onto Canterbury Street.
Canterbury Street79 m
Turn right onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road245 m
Turn left onto Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road649 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Bristol Road/A420.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road46 m
Keep right to stay on Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road1.3 km
Keep right to take New Road/A420.
New Road262 m
Turn right.
4 m
Make a right U-turn.
4 m
Turn right onto New Road/A420.
New Road4 m
Move right onto New Road/A420. Continue on A420.
A420305 m
Enter Bridge Roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Ivy Road.
Bridge Roundabout217 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ivy Road.
Ivy Road134 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Ivy Road.
Ivy Road134 m
Enter Bridge Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Bath Road.
Bridge Roundabout103 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road.
Bath Road39 m
Turn left to stay on Bath Road.
Bath Road134 m
Turn left onto The Bridge.
The Bridge252 m
Move left onto Marshfield Road.
Marshfield Road193 m
Keep straight to take Marshfield Road/A420.
Marshfield Road106 m
Keep straight to stay on Marshfield Road/A420.
Marshfield Road31 m
Make a sharp right onto Park Lane/A420.
Park Lane377 m
Keep right to take New Road/A420.
New Road262 m
Turn right.
4 m
Make a right U-turn.
4 m
Turn right onto New Road/A420.
New Road4 m
Move right to stay on New Road/A420.
New Road19 m
Turn right onto Marshfield Road/A420.
Marshfield Road181 m
Keep right to stay on Marshfield Road/A420.
Marshfield Road105 m
Keep left to stay on A420.
A420995 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bristol Road/A420.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road20 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bristol Road/A420.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road545 m
Enter Bumpers Farm and take the 1st exit onto Bumpers Way.
Bumpers Farm9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bumpers Way.
Bumpers Way449 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Chippenham · Route 4 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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Chequers Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 2.6 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 (30, 40, 50, 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.
Bumpers Farm
Start near Bumpers Farm.
Toolstation
Continue to Toolstation.
Cepen Park South
Continue to Cepen Park South, taking the junction with good observation.
Chequers Roundabout
Continue to Chequers Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Pheasant
Continue to Pheasant.
Rowden Arms
Continue to Rowden Arms.
Grounded
Continue to Grounded.
Baptist Church
Continue to Baptist Church.
Salvation Army - Chippenham
Continue to Salvation Army - Chippenham.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
New Testament Church of God
Continue to New Testament Church of God.
Waste Not Want Not
Continue to Waste Not Want Not.
Sir Audley Arms
Continue to Sir Audley Arms.
Brook
Continue to Brook.
New Inn
Continue to New Inn.
Old Road Tavern
Continue to Old Road Tavern.
Papa John's
Continue to Papa John's.
Reel Cinema
Continue to Reel Cinema.
Lyndon News
Continue to Lyndon News.
Pets at Home
Finish back near Pets at Home, completing the loop.
15 roundabouts · 12 turns · 2 sets of lights
18 roundabouts · 6 turns · 2 sets of lights
12 roundabouts · 8 turns · 2 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 11 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 24.4 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Chippenham test centre, not an official DVSA route.