Near Colchester test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts and 10 turns across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.9 km practice loop near Colchester 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 St Andrew's Avenue and Saint Andrew's Avenue. 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, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads, independent driving 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 shops, stations, churches 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 Colchester 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 94-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.9 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
19 m
Turn left onto Grange Way.
Grange Way264 m
Turn right onto Whitehall Road.
Whitehall Road49 m
Keep left to stay on Whitehall Road.
Whitehall Road453 m
Turn left onto Haven Road.
Haven Road571 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Colne Causeway/A134.
56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Colne Causeway/A134.
Colne Causeway253 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Eastern Approach/A134.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Eastern Approach/A134.
Eastern Approach117 m
Keep right to stay on Eastern Approach/A134.
Eastern Approach160 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Elmstead Road/A134.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elmstead Road/A134.
Elmstead Road100 m
Turn right onto Greenstead Roundabout/A133.
Greenstead Roundabout39 m
Turn right onto Clingoe Hill/A133.
Clingoe Hill563 m
Turn right onto Boundary Road.
Boundary Road201 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Boundary Road.
94 m
Exit the roundabout onto Boundary Road.
Boundary Road731 m
Turn right onto Greenstead Roundabout/A133.
Greenstead Roundabout69 m
Turn left onto Greenstead Roundabout/A133. Continue on A133.
A133197 m
Keep left to take Saint Andrew's Avenue/A133.
Saint Andrew's Avenue131 m
Keep left to stay on Saint Andrew's Avenue/A133.
Saint Andrew's Avenue77 m
Keep left to stay on Saint Andrew's Avenue/A133.
Saint Andrew's Avenue707 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Harwich Road.
3 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harwich Road.
Harwich Road95 m
Keep left to stay on Harwich Road.
Harwich Road123 m
Move right onto East Street.
East Street185 m
Turn right onto Ipswich Road.
Ipswich Road291 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto St Andrew's Avenue/A133.
97 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Andrew's Avenue/A133.
St Andrew's Avenue277 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Harwich Road/A137.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harwich Road/A137.
Harwich Road1.4 km
Turn left onto Churnwood Road.
Churnwood Road26 m
Keep right to stay on Churnwood Road.
Churnwood Road42 m
Turn right onto Templewood Road.
Templewood Road162 m
Move left to stay on Templewood Road.
Templewood Road108 m
Turn right onto Brinkley Crescent.
Brinkley Crescent107 m
Move left to stay on Brinkley Crescent.
Brinkley Crescent136 m
Turn left onto Hazelton Road.
Hazelton Road80 m
Move right onto Broadmead Road.
Broadmead Road181 m
Turn right onto Churnwood Road.
Churnwood Road303 m
Turn left onto Hazelton Road.
Hazelton Road91 m
Turn right onto Harwich Road/A137.
Harwich Road152 m
Keep left to stay on Harwich Road/A137.
Harwich Road768 m
Enter Saint Andrew's Avenue and take the 2nd exit onto Harwich Road.
Saint Andrew's Avenue38 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harwich Road.
Harwich Road121 m
Keep left to stay on Harwich Road.
Harwich Road97 m
Move right onto East Street.
East Street185 m
Turn right onto Ipswich Road.
Ipswich Road291 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto St Andrew's Avenue/A133.
97 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Andrew's Avenue/A133.
St Andrew's Avenue277 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Harwich Road/A137.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Harwich Road/A137.
Harwich Road1.2 km
Move right onto Bromley Road.
Bromley Road234 m
Keep right to stay on Bromley Road.
Bromley Road1.9 km
Keep right to stay on Bromley Road.
Bromley Road162 m
Keep right to stay on Bromley Road.
Bromley Road211 m
Turn right onto Wivenhoe Road.
Wivenhoe Road1.3 km
Keep right at the fork.
24 m
Move right onto Carpenters Lane.
Carpenters Lane36 m
Keep left to stay on Carpenters Lane.
Carpenters Lane139 m
Keep left to stay on Carpenters Lane.
Carpenters Lane128 m
Keep left to stay on Carpenters Lane.
Carpenters Lane956 m
Turn left onto Colchester Road/A133.
Colchester Road262 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Colchester Road/A133.
89 m
Exit the roundabout onto Colchester Road/A133.
Colchester Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Tye Road.
Tye Road987 m
Turn right.
547 m
Turn left.
7 m
Make a right U-turn.
7 m
Turn right.
547 m
Turn left onto Tye Road.
Tye Road994 m
Turn right onto Colchester Road/A133.
Colchester Road1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Colchester Road/A133.
80 m
Exit the roundabout onto Colchester Road/A133. Continue on A133.
A1332.5 km
Turn left onto Greenstead Roundabout/A133.
Greenstead Roundabout40 m
Turn left onto Elmstead Road/A134.
Elmstead Road93 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Elmstead Road.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Elmstead Road.
Elmstead Road310 m
Keep right to stay on Elmstead Road.
Elmstead Road71 m
Move right onto Capon Road.
Capon Road433 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Boundary Road.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Boundary Road.
Boundary Road731 m
Turn left onto Greenstead Roundabout/A133.
Greenstead Roundabout40 m
Turn left onto Elmstead Road/A134.
Elmstead Road93 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Eastern Approach/A134.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Eastern Approach/A134.
Eastern Approach191 m
Keep left to stay on Eastern Approach/A134.
Eastern Approach93 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Colne Causeway/A134.
40 m
Exit the roundabout onto Colne Causeway/A134.
Colne Causeway261 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Haven Road.
10 m
Exit the roundabout onto Haven Road.
Haven Road574 m
Turn right onto Whitehall Road.
Whitehall Road502 m
Turn left onto Grange Way.
Grange Way226 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Colchester · Route 17 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.
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.
BEW Direct
Start near BEW Direct.
Colchester Fuel Injection Ltd
Continue to Colchester Fuel Injection Ltd.
Tesco Store
Continue to Tesco Store.
Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
Continue to Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.
East Gate Inn
Continue to East Gate Inn.
Lighting Showroom
Continue to Lighting Showroom.
St Andrew's Avenue
Continue to St Andrew's Avenue, taking the junction with good observation.
Barber Shop
Continue to Barber Shop.
Harwich Road Fish & Chips
Continue to Harwich Road Fish & Chips.
St Matthew, Colchester
Continue to St Matthew, Colchester.
Colchester Bait & Tackle
Continue to Colchester Bait & Tackle.
Premier Galaxy Food & Wine
Continue to Premier Galaxy Food & Wine.
Wink Lee Chinese Takeaway
Continue to Wink Lee Chinese Takeaway.
Saint Andrew's Avenue
Continue to Saint Andrew's Avenue, taking the junction with good observation.
Graham Long Car Centre
Continue to Graham Long Car Centre.
J&R Autos
Continue to J&R Autos.
Hazelmere Junior School
Continue to Hazelmere Junior School.
Mane Creations
Continue to Mane Creations.
Mini Store
Continue to Mini Store.
Nicholas Stephen Flowers Ltd
Finish back near Nicholas Stephen Flowers Ltd, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 18 turns
8 roundabouts · 13 turns · 1 set of lights
6 roundabouts · 12 turns · 1 set of lights
6 roundabouts · 12 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 27.9 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Colchester test centre, not an official DVSA route.