Near Croydon test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts and 24 turns across 45 navigation steps.
This is an independent 17.2 km practice loop near Croydon test centre, taking roughly 27 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 Lombard 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 roundabout approach & exit, 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 named junctions, shops, pubs and schools, 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 Croydon 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:
The full 45-step drive on real, named roads (about 17.3 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northwest.
37 m
Turn right onto Red House Road.
Red House Road114 m
Turn right onto Mitcham Road/A236.
Mitcham Road1.1 km
Enter Lombard Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A23/Purley Way.
Lombard Roundabout73 m
Exit the roundabout onto A23/Purley Way. Continue on A23.
A232.0 km
Turn right onto A232/Croydon Road.
A2321.1 km
Turn left to stay on A232/Croydon Road.
A232469 m
Turn left onto Demesne Road.
Demesne Road92 m
Turn left onto Evelyn Way.
Evelyn Way95 m
Turn left onto Lytton Gardens.
Lytton Gardens37 m
Turn left.
1 m
Make a right U-turn.
1 m
Turn right onto Lytton Gardens.
Lytton Gardens37 m
Turn right onto Evelyn Way.
Evelyn Way95 m
Turn right onto Demesne Road.
Demesne Road92 m
Turn right onto A232/Croydon Road.
A232489 m
Move right to stay on A232/Croydon Road.
A2321.1 km
Turn left to take the ramp.
38 m
Move left onto A23/Purley Road. Continue on A23.
A232.0 km
Enter Lombard Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A23/Thornton Road.
Lombard Roundabout56 m
Exit the roundabout onto A23/Thornton Road.
A231.1 km
Enter Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A23/London Road.
Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout84 m
Exit the roundabout onto A23/London Road.
A2335 m
Turn left to stay on A23/London Road.
A23748 m
Turn left onto Galpin's Road.
Galpin's Road1.0 km
Make a right U-turn to stay on Galpin's Road.
Galpin's Road460 m
Turn left onto South Lodge Avenue.
South Lodge Avenue645 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Wide Way.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wide Way.
Wide Way839 m
Turn left onto Cairns Place.
Cairns Place120 m
Turn left to stay on Cairns Place.
Cairns Place41 m
Turn right onto Jack Dimmer Close.
Jack Dimmer Close32 m
Turn right.
37 m
Make a right U-turn.
37 m
Turn left onto Jack Dimmer Close.
Jack Dimmer Close32 m
Turn left onto Cairns Place.
Cairns Place41 m
Turn right to stay on Cairns Place.
Cairns Place120 m
Turn right onto Rowan Road/B272.
Rowan Road365 m
Turn right onto Manor Road/B272.
Manor Road840 m
Turn left onto Commonside East/B272.
Commonside East77 m
Turn right onto Windmill Road/B272.
Windmill Road509 m
Turn left onto Croydon Road/A236.
Croydon Road865 m
Turn right onto Red House Road.
Red House Road114 m
Turn left.
37 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Croydon · Residential practice loop 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.
Roundabout
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Lombard Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Lombard Roundabout
Start near Lombard Roundabout.
Kutchenhaus
Continue to Kutchenhaus.
Carphone Warehouse
Continue to Carphone Warehouse.
Mamas & Papas
Continue to Mamas & Papas.
Hare and Hounds
Continue to Hare and Hounds.
S.G. Smith Seat & Skoda main Dealership
Continue to S.G. Smith Seat & Skoda main Dealership.
Link Secondary School
Continue to Link Secondary School.
Link Primary School
Continue to Link Primary School.
Dog House
Continue to Dog House.
Bensons for Beds
Continue to Bensons for Beds.
FTM-Fulham timber&builders merchants
Continue to FTM-Fulham timber&builders merchants.
Sainsbury's Local
Continue to Sainsbury's Local.
St Jude & St Aidan
Continue to St Jude & St Aidan.
Thornton Heath Evangelical Church Croydon
Continue to Thornton Heath Evangelical Church Croydon.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Minnie & Mamas Day Nursery
Continue to Minnie & Mamas Day Nursery.
Pollards Hill Baptist Church
Continue to Pollards Hill Baptist Church.
Save Express
Continue to Save Express.
Rowan Park informal recreation area
Continue to Rowan Park informal recreation area.
Morley's
Finish back near Morley's, completing the loop.
16 roundabouts · 24 turns
12 roundabouts · 15 turns
8 roundabouts · 16 turns
10 roundabouts · 12 turns
This route is 17.2 km and takes about 27 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Croydon test centre, not an official DVSA route.