Near Chippenham test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts, 11 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 26.1 km practice route near Chippenham 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 Bumpers Farm, Cepen Park South, Brook Roundabout, Badger Roundabout and Methuen Park and 1 more named junctions. 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 parks, 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 83-step drive on real, named roads (about 26.5 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 3rd exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Cepen Park South143 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350113 m
Keep left to stay on A350/West Cepen Way.
A3501.7 km
Keep right to stay on A350/West Cepen Way.
A350369 m
Enter Bumpers Farm and take the 2nd exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Bumpers Farm52 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350236 m
Enter Brook Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Brook Roundabout50 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350925 m
Enter Badger Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Badger Roundabout44 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350269 m
Enter Malmesbury Road Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Malmesbury Road/B4158.
Malmesbury Road Roundabout92 m
Exit the roundabout onto Malmesbury Road/B4158.
Malmesbury Road1.3 km
Turn right onto Wedmore Avenue.
Wedmore Avenue120 m
Turn left onto East Yewstock Crescent.
East Yewstock Crescent279 m
Turn left onto Hardenhuish Avenue.
Hardenhuish Avenue36 m
Keep left to stay on Hardenhuish Avenue.
Hardenhuish Avenue200 m
Turn right onto Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road729 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 3rd exit onto Old Hardenhuish Lane.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Old Hardenhuish Lane.
Old Hardenhuish Lane24 m
Keep right to stay on Old Hardenhuish Lane.
Old Hardenhuish Lane294 m
Turn left onto Hardenhuish Lane/B4528.
Hardenhuish Lane696 m
Turn right onto Ridings Mead.
Ridings Mead340 m
Turn left onto Long Ridings.
Long Ridings219 m
Turn left to stay on Long Ridings.
Long Ridings53 m
Turn right onto Malmesbury Road/B4158.
Malmesbury Road619 m
Turn left onto Greenway Avenue.
Greenway Avenue192 m
Turn left onto Greenway Lane.
Greenway Lane623 m
Turn left onto Hill Corner Road.
Hill Corner Road357 m
Turn left onto Oaklands.
Oaklands54 m
Turn left to stay on Oaklands.
Oaklands244 m
Turn left onto Broomfield.
Broomfield240 m
Turn right onto Greenway Lane.
Greenway Lane108 m
Keep left to stay on Greenway Lane.
Greenway Lane142 m
Turn left onto Birch Grove.
Birch Grove272 m
Turn left onto Pew Hill/B4069.
Pew Hill597 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Pew Hill/B4069.
101 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pew Hill/B4069.
Pew Hill76 m
Keep right to stay on Pew Hill/B4069.
Pew Hill523 m
Turn right onto Birch Grove.
Birch Grove79 m
Keep right to stay on Birch Grove.
Birch Grove192 m
Turn right onto Greenway Lane.
Greenway Lane184 m
Turn left onto Oaklands.
Oaklands562 m
Turn left onto Hill Corner Road.
Hill Corner Road100 m
Turn left onto Malmesbury Road/B4158.
Malmesbury Road1.1 km
Turn right onto New Road/B4069. Continue on New Road.
New Road407 m
Keep right to stay on New Road.
New Road139 m
Turn right onto Bath Road.
Bath Road152 m
Enter Bridge Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road/A4.
Bridge Roundabout46 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 Rowden Hill/A4.
Rowden Hill890 m
Turn left onto Rowden Lane.
Rowden Lane96 m
Turn left to stay on Rowden Lane.
Rowden Lane7 m
Move right to stay on Rowden Lane.
Rowden Lane913 m
Turn left.
70 m
Make a right U-turn.
70 m
Turn right onto Rowden Lane.
Rowden Lane920 m
Move left onto Coppice Close.
Coppice Close206 m
Turn right onto B4643.
B4643117 m
Turn left onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road362 m
Keep right to stay on Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road126 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road/A4.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road504 m
Enter Methuen Park and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road/A4.
Methuen Park50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road120 m
Keep left to stay on Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road96 m
Enter Chequers Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Chequers Roundabout93 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A350270 m
Enter Cepen Park South and take the 1st exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Cepen Park South47 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A3501.8 km
Keep right to stay on A350/West Cepen Way.
A350369 m
Enter Bumpers Farm and take the 4th exit onto Bumpers Way.
Bumpers Farm130 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bumpers Way.
Bumpers Way449 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Chippenham · Route 7 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.
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 Brook Roundabout, Badger Roundabout, Chequers Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 6.2 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, 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.
Bumpers Farm
Start near Bumpers Farm.
Cinch
Continue to Cinch.
Cepen Park South
Continue to Cepen Park South, taking the junction with good observation.
Brook Roundabout
Continue to Brook Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Badger Roundabout
Continue to Badger Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Cepen Park
Continue to Cepen Park.
Brook
Continue to Brook.
St Nicholas
Continue to St Nicholas.
St Nicholas School
Continue to St Nicholas School.
MS-2 Store
Continue to MS-2 Store.
Co-op Food
Continue to Co-op Food.
Salvation Army - Chippenham
Continue to Salvation Army - Chippenham.
St Paul's
Continue to St Paul's.
Greggs
Continue to Greggs.
Rowden Arms
Continue to Rowden Arms.
Methuen Park
Continue to Methuen Park, taking the junction with good observation.
Pheasant
Continue to Pheasant.
Chequers Roundabout
Continue to Chequers Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Yilmaz Kebabs & Breakfast
Finish back near Yilmaz Kebabs & Breakfast, 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 26.1 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Chippenham test centre, not an official DVSA route.