Near Chippenham test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 11 roundabouts, 13 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 28.8 km practice route near Chippenham 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 Bumpers Farm, Cepen Park South and Methuen Park. 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, pubs, churches 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 89-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.8 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
15 m
Turn left.
38 m
Turn left onto Bumpers Way.
Bumpers Way805 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.
A3502.2 km
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.
A350265 m
Enter Chequers Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bath Road/A4.
Chequers Roundabout34 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Road/A4.
Bath Road215 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. Continue on A4.
A41.7 km
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
Move left onto Marshfield Road.
Marshfield Road1.3 km
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 1st exit onto Hungerdown Lane/B4528.
3 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hungerdown Lane/B4528.
Hungerdown Lane984 m
Turn left onto Orchard Road.
Orchard Road181 m
Turn left onto Orchard Crescent.
Orchard Crescent69 m
Turn left to stay on Orchard Crescent.
Orchard Crescent96 m
Turn left to stay on Orchard Crescent.
Orchard Crescent58 m
Turn left onto Orchard Road.
Orchard Road78 m
Turn left onto Orchard Crescent.
Orchard Crescent69 m
Turn left to stay on Orchard Crescent.
Orchard Crescent96 m
Turn left to stay on Orchard Crescent.
Orchard Crescent58 m
Turn right onto Orchard Road.
Orchard Road103 m
Turn right onto Hungerdown Lane/B4528.
Hungerdown Lane531 m
Turn right onto Brook Street.
Brook Street564 m
Turn right onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road241 m
Turn right onto Sheldon Road.
Sheldon Road443 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 Street182 m
Turn right onto Dover Street.
Dover Street169 m
Turn left onto Loyalty Street.
Loyalty Street114 m
Turn left onto Audley Road.
Audley Road123 m
Turn left onto Canterbury Street.
Canterbury Street257 m
Turn right onto Woodlands Road.
Woodlands Road80 m
Turn right onto Downing Street.
Downing Street228 m
Turn right onto Audley Road.
Audley Road334 m
Turn left onto Sheldon Road.
Sheldon Road22 m
Turn right onto Lowden.
Lowden675 m
Turn left onto Rowden Hill/A4. Continue on A4.
A4962 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
Move left onto Marshfield Road.
Marshfield Road332 m
Make a sharp right onto Park Lane/A420.
Park Lane377 m
Keep right to take New Road/A420.
New Road266 m
Move right to stay on New Road/A420.
New Road19 m
Turn right onto Marshfield Road/A420.
Marshfield Road329 m
Make a sharp right onto Park Lane/A420.
Park Lane377 m
Keep left to take Park Lane/B4158.
Park Lane69 m
Move left onto Langley Road/B4069.
Langley Road574 m
Turn left onto Birch Grove.
Birch Grove272 m
Turn left onto Greenway Lane.
Greenway Lane451 m
Turn left onto Malmesbury Road/B4158.
Malmesbury Road116 m
Turn left onto Langley Road/B4069.
Langley Road101 m
Turn right onto Maud Heath Court.
Maud Heath Court50 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Maud Heath Court.
Maud Heath Court50 m
Turn right onto Langley Road/B4069.
Langley Road473 m
Turn left onto Birch Grove.
Birch Grove272 m
Turn right onto Greenway Lane.
Greenway Lane428 m
Turn left onto Hill Corner Road.
Hill Corner Road458 m
Turn left onto Malmesbury Road/B4158.
Malmesbury Road545 m
Turn right onto Wedmore Avenue.
Wedmore Avenue120 m
Turn left onto East Yewstock Crescent.
East Yewstock Crescent279 m
Turn left onto Hardenhuish Avenue.
Hardenhuish Avenue237 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 2nd exit onto Bristol Road/A420.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bristol Road/A420.
Bristol Road545 m
Enter Bumpers Farm and take the 2nd exit onto A350/West Cepen Way.
Bumpers Farm47 m
Exit the roundabout onto A350/West Cepen Way.
A3502.2 km
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.
A3502.2 km
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 8 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
Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.
Dual-carriageway join
About 5.1 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, 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.
Cepen Park South
Continue to Cepen Park South, taking the junction with good observation.
Methuen Park
Continue to Methuen Park, taking the junction with good observation.
Pheasant
Continue to Pheasant.
Rowden Arms
Continue to Rowden Arms.
Baptist Church
Continue to Baptist Church.
Salvation Army - Chippenham
Continue to Salvation Army - Chippenham.
Brook
Continue to Brook.
Brunel
Continue to Brunel.
Kingfisher
Continue to Kingfisher.
Sir Audley Arms
Continue to Sir Audley Arms.
New Testament Church of God
Continue to New Testament Church of God.
Sheldon Road Methodist Church
Continue to Sheldon Road Methodist Church.
New Inn
Continue to New Inn.
Old Road Tavern
Continue to Old Road Tavern.
Barber Studios
Continue to Barber Studios.
St Paul's
Continue to St Paul's.
Co-op Food
Continue to Co-op Food.
St Nicholas School
Continue to St Nicholas School.
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 28.8 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Chippenham test centre, not an official DVSA route.