Near Edinburgh (Currie) test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts, 15 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 25 navigation steps.
This is an independent 20.7 km practice route 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 and Calder 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 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, stations and churches, 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 81-step drive on real, named roads (about 20.7 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 Road298 m
Turn left onto Thomson Road.
Thomson Road73 m
Turn left onto Corslet Crescent.
Corslet Crescent289 m
Turn left onto Thomson Crescent.
Thomson Crescent71 m
Turn left onto Muir Wood Road.
Muir Wood Road86 m
Turn right onto Corslet Road.
Corslet Road272 m
Turn right onto Riccarton Mains Road.
Riccarton Mains Road1.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards Edinburgh/City Bypass.
90 m
Exit the roundabout towards Edinburgh/City Bypass.
Riccarton Mains Road307 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards Edinburgh/City Bypass/M8.
31 m
Exit the roundabout towards Edinburgh/City Bypass/M8.
Riccarton Mains Road244 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit towards Edinburgh/City Bypass/M8.
149 m
Exit the roundabout towards Edinburgh/City Bypass/M8.
Calder Road524 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards City Centre.
120 m
Exit the roundabout towards City Centre.
Calder Road802 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit towards Lanark.
99 m
Exit the roundabout towards Lanark.
Wester Hailes Road389 m
Turn right onto Calder Drive.
Calder Drive142 m
Turn right onto Calder Gardens.
Calder Gardens69 m
Turn left onto Calder Place.
Calder Place246 m
Move left onto Calder Drive.
Calder Drive196 m
Turn left to stay on Calder Drive.
Calder Drive255 m
Turn left onto Wester Hailes Road/B701.
Wester Hailes Road386 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit towards City Centre.
102 m
Exit the roundabout towards City Centre.
Calder Road617 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Broomhouse Road/B701.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broomhouse Road/B701.
Broomhouse Road426 m
Turn right.
16 m
Turn left onto Broomhouse Road.
Broomhouse Road265 m
Turn left onto Broomhouse Avenue.
Broomhouse Avenue62 m
Turn left onto Broomhouse Drive.
Broomhouse Drive93 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto B701.
60 m
Exit the roundabout onto B701.
B701899 m
Turn left 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 left onto Broomhall Gardens.
Broomhall Gardens211 m
Turn left onto Broomhall Road.
Broomhall Road460 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 left onto Meadow Place Road/B701.
Meadow Place Road377 m
Turn right onto Ladywell Road.
Ladywell Road328 m
Turn right onto Ladywell Avenue.
Ladywell Avenue384 m
Turn left onto Castle Avenue.
Castle Avenue332 m
Turn right onto Saughton Road North.
Saughton Road North1.1 km
Turn left onto Stenhouse Street West.
Stenhouse Street West17 m
Turn right onto Saughton Road.
Saughton Road282 m
Turn right to stay on Saughton Road.
Saughton Road34 m
Turn left to stay on Saughton Road.
Saughton Road102 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards Longstone/Slateford.
59 m
Exit the roundabout towards Longstone/Slateford.
Longstone Road321 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Longstone Road.
48 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 2nd exit onto Murrayburn Road.
22 m
Exit the roundabout onto Murrayburn Road.
Murrayburn Road1.4 km
Turn right 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 Road316 m
Turn right onto Hailesland Road.
Hailesland Road338 m
Turn right onto Clovenstone Road.
Clovenstone Road57 m
Turn right 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 right onto Clovenstone Road.
Clovenstone Road763 m
Enter Clovenstone Roundabout and take the 1st exit towards City Centre.
Clovenstone Roundabout19 m
Exit the roundabout towards City Centre.
Wester Hailes Road524 m
Turn left towards City Centre.
Lanark Road513 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Edinburgh (Currie) · Route 9 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.
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.
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.
Co-op Food
Start near Co-op Food.
Hairtech
Continue to Hairtech.
Riccarton Mains Road
Continue to Riccarton Mains Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Hermiston Park and Ride
Continue to Hermiston Park and Ride.
Topps Tiles
Continue to Topps Tiles.
Calder Road
Continue to Calder Road, taking the junction with good observation.
St Nicholas Parish Church
Continue to St Nicholas Parish Church.
St Nicholas Parish Church Gardens
Continue to St Nicholas Parish Church Gardens.
Scotmid Co-operative Funeral Directors
Continue to Scotmid Co-operative Funeral Directors.
Day-Today Express
Continue to Day-Today Express.
Kissa
Continue to Kissa.
Corstorphine Police Station
Continue to Corstorphine Police Station.
Kwik Fit
Continue to Kwik Fit.
Carrick Knowe Parish Church
Continue to Carrick Knowe Parish Church.
Terrace
Continue to Terrace.
Talk of the town
Continue to Talk of the town.
Cars4You
Continue to Cars4You.
Holy Trinity
Continue to Holy Trinity.
Cranley Nursery
Continue to Cranley Nursery.
Wester Hailes Baptist Church
Finish back near Wester Hailes Baptist Church, 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 20.7 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.