Near Doncaster test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts, 19 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 37.4 km practice route near Doncaster 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 Armthorpe Road 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 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 18 catalogued landmarks, including churches, named junctions, pubs and shops, 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 Doncaster 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 106-step drive on real, named roads (about 37.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
39 m
Turn right onto Shaw Wood Way.
Shaw Wood Way127 m
Turn left onto A18/Leger Way.
A18896 m
Enter Armthorpe Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A18/Leger Way.
Armthorpe Road Roundabout23 m
Exit the roundabout onto A18/Leger Way.
A182.0 km
Turn right onto Leicester Avenue.
Leicester Avenue181 m
Turn right onto Shaftesbury Avenue.
Shaftesbury Avenue585 m
Turn left onto Evelyn Avenue.
Evelyn Avenue73 m
Turn left onto Wolsey Avenue.
Wolsey Avenue574 m
Turn right onto Shaftesbury Avenue.
Shaftesbury Avenue79 m
Turn right onto Leicester Avenue.
Leicester Avenue195 m
Turn left onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road307 m
Turn left onto Town Moor Avenue.
Town Moor Avenue284 m
Turn left onto A18/Leger Way.
A182.3 km
Enter Armthorpe Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road Roundabout3 m
Exit the roundabout onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road660 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Armthorpe Road.
63 m
Exit the roundabout onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road662 m
Enter Armthorpe Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road Roundabout26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road906 m
Turn left onto Mansfield Crescent.
Mansfield Crescent551 m
Keep right to stay on Mansfield Crescent.
Mansfield Crescent405 m
Turn left onto Doncaster Road.
Doncaster Road264 m
Move left onto Church Street.
Church Street633 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Church Street.
53 m
Exit the roundabout onto Church Street.
Church Street393 m
Turn left onto Southfield Road.
Southfield Road136 m
Turn right onto Westfield Road.
Westfield Road151 m
Turn left to stay on Westfield Road.
Westfield Road204 m
Turn right onto Elmwood Crescent.
Elmwood Crescent311 m
Turn left onto Oakwood Drive.
Oakwood Drive122 m
Turn right onto Southfield Road.
Southfield Road307 m
Turn right onto Tranmoor Lane.
Tranmoor Lane295 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Bellrope Acre.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bellrope Acre.
Bellrope Acre181 m
Turn left onto Pasture Close.
Pasture Close118 m
Turn right onto Brampton Lane.
Brampton Lane98 m
Turn right to stay on Brampton Lane.
Brampton Lane158 m
Turn left to stay on Brampton Lane.
Brampton Lane122 m
Turn left onto Southmoor Lane.
Southmoor Lane115 m
Turn left to stay on Southmoor Lane.
Southmoor Lane7 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Southmoor Lane.
Southmoor Lane7 m
Turn right to stay on Southmoor Lane.
Southmoor Lane115 m
Turn right onto Brampton Lane.
Brampton Lane122 m
Turn right to stay on Brampton Lane.
Brampton Lane158 m
Turn left to stay on Brampton Lane.
Brampton Lane98 m
Turn left onto Pasture Close.
Pasture Close118 m
Turn right onto Bellrope Acre.
Bellrope Acre181 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Tranmoor Lane.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tranmoor Lane.
Tranmoor Lane295 m
Turn left onto Southfield Road.
Southfield Road307 m
Turn left onto Oakwood Drive.
Oakwood Drive373 m
Turn right onto Southmoor Avenue.
Southmoor Avenue131 m
Turn right onto Elmwood Crescent.
Elmwood Crescent197 m
Turn left onto Oakwood Drive.
Oakwood Drive122 m
Turn right onto Southfield Road.
Southfield Road307 m
Turn right onto Tranmoor Lane.
Tranmoor Lane295 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Tranmoor Lane.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tranmoor Lane.
Tranmoor Lane558 m
Move left onto Nutwell Lane.
Nutwell Lane34 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Mill Street.
33 m
Exit the roundabout onto Mill Street.
Mill Street307 m
Move left onto Hatfield Lane.
Hatfield Lane286 m
Turn left onto Laurel Road.
Laurel Road340 m
Turn left onto Beech Road.
Beech Road226 m
Turn left onto Briar Road.
Briar Road91 m
Turn left onto Almond Avenue.
Almond Avenue177 m
Turn left.
107 m
Turn right onto Laurel Road.
Laurel Road155 m
Turn left onto Hatfield Lane.
Hatfield Lane295 m
Turn left onto Fernbank Drive.
Fernbank Drive270 m
Turn left onto Beech Road.
Beech Road155 m
Turn left onto Hawthorn Avenue.
Hawthorn Avenue315 m
Turn left onto Hatfield Lane.
Hatfield Lane356 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hatfield Lane.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hatfield Lane.
Hatfield Lane223 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A630/Westmoor Link.
123 m
Exit the roundabout onto A630/Westmoor Link.
A6301.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto West Moor Lane.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto West Moor Lane.
West Moor Lane848 m
Turn left onto Green Lane.
Green Lane1.6 km
Turn left onto Thorne Road/A18.
Thorne Road549 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Thorne Road/A18.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Thorne Road/A18. Continue on A18.
A181.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A18/Thorne Road.
88 m
Exit the roundabout onto A18/Thorne Road.
A18347 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A18/Thorne Road.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto A18/Thorne Road.
A18384 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Thorne Road.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Thorne Road.
Thorne Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Thornhill Avenue.
Thornhill Avenue227 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Sandall Rise.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sandall Rise.
Sandall Rise250 m
Turn left onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road121 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Armthorpe Road.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road662 m
Enter Armthorpe Road Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A18/Leger Way.
Armthorpe Road Roundabout47 m
Exit the roundabout onto A18/Leger Way.
A181.9 km
Make a right U-turn at Sandall Beat Road to stay on A18/Leger Way.
A181.9 km
Enter Armthorpe Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road Roundabout3 m
Exit the roundabout onto Armthorpe Road.
Armthorpe Road660 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Sandringham Road.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Leicester Avenue.
Leicester Avenue195 m
Turn left onto Shaftesbury Avenue.
Shaftesbury Avenue312 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Doncaster · 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.
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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Armthorpe Road Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 11.9 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 (40, 50, 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 18 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Doncaster Fire Station
Start near Doncaster Fire Station.
All Saints
Continue to All Saints.
Armthorpe Road Roundabout
Continue to Armthorpe Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Sportsman
Continue to Sportsman.
St Leonard & St Mary
Continue to St Leonard & St Mary.
B&M Bargains
Continue to B&M Bargains.
Morrisons
Continue to Morrisons.
Wheatsheaf
Continue to Wheatsheaf.
Co-operative Food
Continue to Co-operative Food.
KFC
Continue to KFC.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Wheatley Hotel
Continue to Wheatley Hotel.
St Aidan
Continue to St Aidan.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
Sainsbury's Local
Continue to Sainsbury's Local.
Lonsdale
Continue to Lonsdale.
Spar
Continue to Spar.
Victoria Boutique
Finish back near Victoria Boutique, completing the loop.
10 roundabouts · 16 turns · 9 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 12 turns · 5 sets of lights
6 roundabouts · 12 turns · 3 sets of lights
4 roundabouts · 18 turns · 6 sets of lights
This route is 37.4 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Doncaster test centre, not an official DVSA route.