Near Derby test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 28 roundabouts and 19 turns across 80 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.0 km practice loop near Derby test centre, taking roughly 28 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 Raynesway Park, Thulston Island, Snelsmoor Island and Spondon 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 shops, named junctions, 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 Derby 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 80-step drive on real, named roads (about 27.5 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
63 m
Turn left.
41 m
Turn right.
102 m
Turn right.
73 m
Turn right onto Quintin Road.
Quintin Road200 m
Turn right onto Belmore Way.
Belmore Way473 m
Enter Raynesway Park and take the 1st exit onto A5111/Raynesway.
Raynesway Park1 m
Exit the roundabout onto A5111/Raynesway.
A511143 m
Keep right to stay on A5111/Raynesway.
A5111375 m
Enter Raynesway Park and take the 2nd exit onto A6/Alvaston Bypass.
Raynesway Park102 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Alvaston Bypass.
A62.4 km
Enter Thulston Island and take the 4th exit.
Thulston Island193 m
Exit the roundabout.
172 m
Enter Snelsmoor Island and take the 2nd exit onto Shardlow Road.
Snelsmoor Island76 m
Exit the roundabout onto Shardlow Road.
Shardlow Road572 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bembridge Drive.
1 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bembridge Drive.
Bembridge Drive83 m
Turn right onto Shalfleet Drive.
Shalfleet Drive263 m
Turn left to stay on Shalfleet Drive.
Shalfleet Drive20 m
Turn right to stay on Shalfleet Drive.
Shalfleet Drive32 m
Turn right to stay on Shalfleet Drive.
Shalfleet Drive14 m
Turn left to stay on Shalfleet Drive.
Shalfleet Drive263 m
Turn left onto Bembridge Drive.
Bembridge Drive83 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Shardlow Road.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Shardlow Road.
Shardlow Road570 m
Enter Snelsmoor Island and take the 2nd exit.
Snelsmoor Island52 m
Exit the roundabout.
169 m
Enter Thulston Island and take the 1st exit onto A6/Alvaston Bypass.
Thulston Island18 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Alvaston Bypass.
A62.1 km
Keep right to stay on A6/Alvaston Bypass.
A6106 m
Keep right at the fork.
599 m
Move right onto A5111/Raynesway.
A51111.3 km
Keep left to stay on A5111.
A511188 m
Take the exit.
A522.8 km
Enter The Pentagon and take the 2nd exit onto Eastgate/A52.
The Pentagon153 m
Exit the roundabout onto Eastgate/A52.
A52934 m
Keep right to take Saint Alkmund's Way/A601 towards A52/A516/A38/Inner ring road.
Saint Alkmund's Way390 m
Keep right to stay on A601.
A601401 m
Make a right U-turn at Friar Gate to stay on A601.
A601302 m
Keep right to take Saint Alkmund's Way/A601.
Saint Alkmund's Way764 m
Keep left to take Saint Alkmund's Way/A52.
Saint Alkmund's Way99 m
Keep left to stay on Saint Alkmund's Way/A52.
Saint Alkmund's Way100 m
Keep left to stay on A52.
A52364 m
Keep left to stay on A52.
A522.8 km
Take the Spondon Roundabout exit.
54 m
Keep right at the fork.
102 m
Keep right at the fork.
38 m
Keep right at the fork.
561 m
Enter Spondon Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Derby Road/A6005.
Spondon Roundabout11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Derby Road/A6005.
Derby Road120 m
Keep left to stay on Derby Road/A6005.
Derby Road444 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Derby Road.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Derby Road.
Derby Road92 m
Turn left to stay on Derby Road.
Derby Road333 m
Turn left onto Eden Road.
Eden Road106 m
Turn left onto Albert Road.
Albert Road298 m
Move right onto Waterford Drive.
Waterford Drive208 m
Turn left onto Galway Avenue.
Galway Avenue18 m
Keep right to stay on Galway Avenue.
Galway Avenue109 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Galway Avenue.
Galway Avenue128 m
Turn right onto Waterford Drive.
Waterford Drive208 m
Move left onto Albert Road.
Albert Road121 m
Keep left to stay on Albert Road.
Albert Road176 m
Turn right onto Eden Road.
Eden Road122 m
Turn right onto Nottingham Road.
Nottingham Road409 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Raynesway/A6005.
56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Raynesway/A6005.
Raynesway1.9 km
Keep right to take A5111/Raynesway.
A5111107 m
Keep right to stay on A5111/Raynesway.
A511196 m
Keep left to stay on A5111/Raynesway.
A5111388 m
Enter Raynesway Park and take the 2nd exit onto A5111/Raynesway.
Raynesway Park25 m
Exit the roundabout onto A5111/Raynesway.
A5111423 m
Enter Raynesway Park and take the 2nd exit onto Belmore Way.
Raynesway Park60 m
Exit the roundabout onto Belmore Way.
Belmore Way486 m
Turn left.
117 m
Turn left onto Quintin Road.
Quintin Road83 m
Turn left.
211 m
Move left.
6 m
Turn right.
63 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Derby · Residential + A-road 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.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
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 Spondon 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.
SGS Engineering
Start near SGS Engineering.
Raynesway Park
Continue to Raynesway Park, taking the junction with good observation.
Thulston Island
Continue to Thulston Island, taking the junction with good observation.
Snelsmoor Island
Continue to Snelsmoor Island, taking the junction with good observation.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
M&S Food
Continue to M&S Food.
Browns Builders Merchants
Continue to Browns Builders Merchants.
Kwik Fit plus
Continue to Kwik Fit plus.
Derby Motorhomes
Continue to Derby Motorhomes.
Friends Meeting House
Continue to Friends Meeting House.
Saint Mary's Church
Continue to Saint Mary's Church.
Chapel of Saint Mary on the Bridge
Continue to Chapel of Saint Mary on the Bridge.
Peacock
Continue to Peacock.
Howarth Timber
Continue to Howarth Timber.
Spondon Roundabout
Continue to Spondon Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Bank
Continue to Bank.
Raynesway Blinds
Continue to Raynesway Blinds.
Eden Hair Design
Continue to Eden Hair Design.
T&E Mason
Continue to T&E Mason.
Raynesway Tile Warehouse
Finish back near Raynesway Tile Warehouse, completing the loop.
33 roundabouts · 11 turns
18 roundabouts · 8 turns
18 roundabouts · 21 turns
28 roundabouts · 25 turns
This route is 27.0 km and takes about 28 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Derby test centre, not an official DVSA route.