Near Erith test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 16 turns and 1 signalled junction across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 23.4 km practice loop near Erith 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 Crabtree Manorway North, Bronze Age Way and Northend 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 named junctions, stations, shops 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 Erith 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 79-step drive on real, named roads (about 23.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
59 m
Turn right onto Crabtree Manorway North.
Crabtree Manorway North187 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Crabtree Manorway North.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Crabtree Manorway North.
Crabtree Manorway North181 m
Turn left.
99 m
Turn left.
568 m
Turn left.
318 m
Turn left onto Mulberry Way.
Mulberry Way257 m
Enter Crabtree Manorway North and take the 2nd exit onto Anderson Way.
Crabtree Manorway North27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Anderson Way.
Anderson Way211 m
Move left.
9 m
Move right onto Anderson Way.
Anderson Way26 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bronze Age Way/A2016.
8 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bronze Age Way/A2016.
Bronze Age Way2.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Queens Road/A206.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Queens Road/A206. Continue on A206.
A206818 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Northend Road/A206.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto Northend Road/A206.
Northend Road1.1 km
Enter Thames Road and take the 5th exit onto Northend Road/A206.
Thames Road209 m
Exit the roundabout onto Northend Road/A206.
Northend Road136 m
Turn left onto Eversley Avenue.
Eversley Avenue589 m
Turn right onto Edendale Road.
Edendale Road482 m
Turn left onto Fairford Avenue.
Fairford Avenue393 m
Make a sharp left onto Appledore Avenue.
Appledore Avenue478 m
Turn right onto Eversley Avenue.
Eversley Avenue50 m
Turn right onto Merewood Road.
Merewood Road92 m
Turn right onto Barnehurst Avenue.
Barnehurst Avenue594 m
Turn left onto Barnehurst Close.
Barnehurst Close96 m
Turn left to stay on Barnehurst Close.
Barnehurst Close82 m
Turn left to stay on Barnehurst Close.
Barnehurst Close96 m
Turn left onto Barnehurst Avenue.
Barnehurst Avenue175 m
Turn right onto Colyers Lane.
Colyers Lane490 m
Turn right onto Colyers Close.
Colyers Close71 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Colyers Close.
Colyers Close71 m
Turn left onto Colyers Lane.
Colyers Lane1.5 km
Turn left onto Parsonage Manorway.
Parsonage Manorway326 m
Turn left onto Plaxtol Road.
Plaxtol Road351 m
Turn left onto Ightham Road.
Ightham Road106 m
Turn right onto Swanton Road.
Swanton Road258 m
Make a sharp right onto Nurstead Road.
Nurstead Road312 m
Turn left onto Ightham Road.
Ightham Road68 m
Turn right onto Luddesdon Road.
Luddesdon Road344 m
Turn right onto Parsonage Manorway.
Parsonage Manorway87 m
Turn right onto Eastry Road.
Eastry Road347 m
Turn left onto Ightham Road.
Ightham Road84 m
Turn left onto Plaxtol Road.
Plaxtol Road351 m
Turn left onto Parsonage Manorway.
Parsonage Manorway91 m
Turn right onto Swaylands Road.
Swaylands Road188 m
Turn left onto Matfield Road.
Matfield Road81 m
Turn left onto Cray Road.
Cray Road180 m
Turn left onto Parsonage Manorway.
Parsonage Manorway501 m
Turn right onto Brook Street.
Brook Street442 m
Turn left onto Hengist Road.
Hengist Road90 m
Turn left onto Penda Road.
Penda Road407 m
Turn left onto Carlton Road.
Carlton Road178 m
Turn right onto Brook Street.
Brook Street700 m
Turn right onto Erith Road/A206.
Erith Road310 m
Turn right onto Upper Holly Hill Road.
Upper Holly Hill Road209 m
Turn right onto Holly Hill Road.
Holly Hill Road239 m
Turn right onto Rutland Gate.
Rutland Gate99 m
Turn left onto Erith Road/A206.
Erith Road55 m
Turn right onto Upper Park Road.
Upper Park Road731 m
Turn right onto Picardy Road/B250.
Picardy Road17 m
Turn left onto Lower Road/B213. Continue on B213.
B213196 m
Turn right onto Picardy Street.
Picardy Street204 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road28 m
Turn left onto Lower Road/B213. Continue on Lower Road.
Lower Road289 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Lower Road/B213.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lower Road/B213.
Lower Road695 m
Turn left to take the Bronze Age Way ramp.
Bronze Age Way993 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Picardy Manorway/B253.
8 m
Exit the roundabout onto Picardy Manorway/B253.
Picardy Manorway771 m
Enter Lower Road and take the 3rd exit onto Picardy Manorway/B253.
Lower Road60 m
Exit the roundabout onto Picardy Manorway/B253.
Picardy Manorway773 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Anderson Way.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Anderson Way.
Anderson Way251 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Crabtree Manorway North.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Crabtree Manorway North.
Crabtree Manorway North35 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Erith · Route 7 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.
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, 50 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.
Crabtree Manorway North
Start near Crabtree Manorway North.
Bronze Age Way
Continue to Bronze Age Way, taking the junction with good observation.
Erith
Continue to Erith.
Northend Road
Continue to Northend Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
Afishionados
Continue to Afishionados.
G & J Cairncross
Continue to G & J Cairncross.
Northend Mini Market
Continue to Northend Mini Market.
Yummy
Continue to Yummy.
Barnehurst Infant School
Continue to Barnehurst Infant School.
Pure Hair Design
Continue to Pure Hair Design.
Brewers Arms
Continue to Brewers Arms.
Duke
Continue to Duke.
Duchess of Kent
Continue to Duchess of Kent.
Northumberland Heath Childrens Centre
Continue to Northumberland Heath Childrens Centre.
Erith Fire Station
Continue to Erith Fire Station.
Belvedere Methodist Church
Continue to Belvedere Methodist Church.
New Star
Continue to New Star.
Guru Nanak Durbar Sikh Temple
Continue to Guru Nanak Durbar Sikh Temple.
Halfway House
Finish back near Halfway House, completing the loop.
7 roundabouts · 19 turns
11 roundabouts · 10 turns · 2 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 14 turns · 1 set of lights
13 roundabouts · 8 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 23.4 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Erith test centre, not an official DVSA route.