Near Edinburgh (Currie) test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts, 12 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 23 navigation steps.
This is an independent 22.1 km practice loop near Edinburgh (Currie) test centre, taking roughly 35 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 Riccarton Mains Road. 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, 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, churches, 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 Edinburgh (Currie) 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 77-step drive on real, named roads (about 22.1 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east on Bryce Road.
Bryce Road24 m
Turn left onto Corslet Place.
Corslet Place54 m
Turn right to stay on Corslet Place.
Corslet Place57 m
Turn right onto Muir Wood Road.
Muir Wood Road60 m
Turn left onto Bryce Road.
Bryce Road319 m
Turn left onto Lanark Road West/A70. Continue on A70.
A703.0 km
Turn right onto Hailes Grove.
Hailes Grove95 m
Turn left onto Hailes Terrace.
Hailes Terrace166 m
Turn left onto Hailes Avenue.
Hailes Avenue173 m
Turn left onto Lanark Road/A70.
Lanark Road783 m
Turn right onto Wester Hailes Road/B701.
Wester Hailes Road516 m
Enter Clovenstone Roundabout and take the 4th exit towards Clovenstone/Hailesland.
Clovenstone Roundabout116 m
Exit the roundabout towards Clovenstone/Hailesland.
Clovenstone Road767 m
Turn left onto Hailesland Place.
Hailesland Place133 m
Turn right.
94 m
Make a right U-turn.
94 m
Turn left onto Hailesland Place.
Hailesland Place133 m
Turn left onto Clovenstone Road.
Clovenstone Road57 m
Turn left onto Hailesland Road.
Hailesland Road339 m
Turn right onto Murrayburn Road.
Murrayburn Road42 m
Turn left onto Murrayburn Drive.
Murrayburn Drive656 m
Turn right onto Calder Grove.
Calder Grove317 m
Turn right onto Wester Hailes Road/B701.
Wester Hailes Road296 m
Turn left onto Murrayburn Road.
Murrayburn Road1.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Longstone Road.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto Longstone Road.
Longstone Road172 m
Turn left onto Longstone Crescent.
Longstone Crescent233 m
Turn right onto Longstone Road.
Longstone Road67 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Longstone Road.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Longstone Road.
Longstone Road315 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Saughton Road.
70 m
Exit the roundabout onto Saughton Road.
Saughton Road100 m
Turn right to stay on Saughton Road.
Saughton Road34 m
Turn left to stay on Saughton Road.
Saughton Road282 m
Turn left onto Stenhouse Street West.
Stenhouse Street West17 m
Turn right onto Saughton Road.
Saughton Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Castle Avenue.
Castle Avenue332 m
Turn right onto Ladywell Avenue.
Ladywell Avenue384 m
Turn left onto Ladywell Road.
Ladywell Road329 m
Turn left onto Meadow Place Road/B701.
Meadow Place Road377 m
Turn right onto Wester Broom Avenue.
Wester Broom Avenue20 m
Turn right onto Broomhall Drive.
Broomhall Drive162 m
Turn left onto South Gyle Road.
South Gyle Road68 m
Turn left onto Wester Broom Terrace.
Wester Broom Terrace157 m
Turn left onto Wester Broom Avenue.
Wester Broom Avenue79 m
Turn left onto Meadow Place Road/B701.
Meadow Place Road103 m
Turn right onto Broomhall Road.
Broomhall Road82 m
Turn right onto Broomhall Terrace.
Broomhall Terrace237 m
Turn right onto Broomhall Gardens.
Broomhall Gardens69 m
Turn right onto Broomhall Drive.
Broomhall Drive252 m
Turn left onto Broomhall Road.
Broomhall Road21 m
Turn left onto Meadow Place Road/B701.
Meadow Place Road103 m
Turn right onto Wester Broom Avenue.
Wester Broom Avenue20 m
Turn right onto Broomhall Drive.
Broomhall Drive162 m
Turn left onto South Gyle Road.
South Gyle Road68 m
Turn left onto Wester Broom Terrace.
Wester Broom Terrace157 m
Turn left onto Wester Broom Avenue.
Wester Broom Avenue79 m
Turn right onto Meadow Place Road/B701. Continue on B701.
B701898 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Broomhouse Drive.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broomhouse Drive.
Broomhouse Drive15 m
Turn left to stay on Broomhouse Drive.
Broomhouse Drive79 m
Turn right onto Broomhouse Avenue.
Broomhouse Avenue62 m
Turn right onto Broomhouse Road.
Broomhouse Road264 m
Turn right.
16 m
Turn left onto Broomhouse Road/B701.
Broomhouse Road427 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Calder Road/A71.
135 m
Exit the roundabout onto Calder Road/A71.
Calder Road614 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Calder Road/A71.
61 m
Exit the roundabout onto Calder Road/A71.
Calder Road789 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 6th exit towards Heriot-Watt University.
481 m
Exit the roundabout towards Heriot-Watt University.
Calder Road471 m
Keep left towards Heriot-Watt University.
Riccarton Mains Road321 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards Heriot-Watt University/Currie/Balerno.
28 m
Exit the roundabout towards Heriot-Watt University/Currie/Balerno.
Riccarton Mains Road305 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards Currie.
91 m
Exit the roundabout towards Currie.
Riccarton Mains Road1.2 km
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Edinburgh (Currie) · Route 3 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.
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 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.
Clearview Opticians
Start near Clearview Opticians.
McGills
Continue to McGills.
Juniper Green Parish Church
Continue to Juniper Green Parish Church.
Kinleith Mill
Continue to Kinleith Mill.
Cranley Nursery
Continue to Cranley Nursery.
Tanners
Continue to Tanners.
Holy Trinity
Continue to Holy Trinity.
Wester Hailes Baptist Church
Continue to Wester Hailes Baptist Church.
Cars4You
Continue to Cars4You.
Istanbul
Continue to Istanbul.
Talk of the town
Continue to Talk of the town.
Carrick Knowe Parish Church
Continue to Carrick Knowe Parish Church.
Terrace
Continue to Terrace.
Corstorphine Police Station
Continue to Corstorphine Police Station.
Day-Today Express
Continue to Day-Today Express.
Kissa
Continue to Kissa.
Scotmid Co-operative Funeral Directors
Continue to Scotmid Co-operative Funeral Directors.
Artful Dodger
Continue to Artful Dodger.
St Nicholas Parish Church
Continue to St Nicholas Parish Church.
Riccarton Mains Road
Finish back near Riccarton Mains Road, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 16 turns · 4 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 10 turns · 2 sets of lights
4 roundabouts · 14 turns · 2 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 12 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 22.1 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Edinburgh (Currie) test centre, not an official DVSA route.