Near Gateshead (Elswick) test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts, 19 turns and 4 signalled junctions across 27 navigation steps.
This is an independent 50.2 km practice route near Gateshead (Elswick) 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 Redheugh Bridge Roundabout, Fawdon Interchange, Great Parkway and North Park. 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, 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 churches, pubs, parks and named junctions, 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 Gateshead (Elswick) 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 115-step drive on real, named roads (about 50.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast.
14 m
Turn right.
15 m
Turn left onto Waterside Drive.
Waterside Drive29 m
Turn right to stay on Waterside Drive.
Waterside Drive77 m
Turn left.
462 m
Keep straight to take Dunston Road.
Dunston Road454 m
Take the exit.
A1569 m
Keep left to stay on A1/E 15.
A17 m
Take exit 69 onto A184 towards Central Newcastle/Central Gateshead.
A1842.0 km
Keep right to take A189.
A1891.2 km
Move left onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road136 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Scotswood Road/A695.
22 m
Exit the roundabout onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road386 m
Turn left onto Dunn Street.
Dunn Street64 m
Turn right onto Penn Street.
Penn Street759 m
Turn left onto Amethyst Road.
Amethyst Road351 m
Turn right.
37 m
Turn right.
88 m
Turn left onto Amethyst Road.
Amethyst Road299 m
Turn left onto Monarch Road.
Monarch Road389 m
Turn left onto William Armstrong Drive.
William Armstrong Drive137 m
Keep left to stay on William Armstrong Drive.
William Armstrong Drive836 m
Turn right onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road2.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Scotswood Road/A695.
66 m
Exit the roundabout onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road4.0 km
Keep right to stay on Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road126 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Scotswood Road/A191.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto Scotswood Road/A191.
Scotswood Road18 m
Keep right to stay on Scotswood Road/A191.
Scotswood Road234 m
Keep right to stay on A191.
A19189 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1.
62 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1.
A14.3 km
Keep left to stay on A1/E 15 towards Morpeth.
A1114 m
Keep straight to stay on A1/E 15 towards Morpeth.
A1219 m
Keep right to stay on A1/E 15 towards Morpeth.
A1262 m
Keep right to stay on A1/E 15 towards Morpeth.
A1134 m
Keep straight to stay on A1/E 15 towards Morpeth.
A13.2 km
Take exit 79 onto A1056/(B1318) towards Wide Open/Killingworth/Gosforth/Great Park.
132 m
Take exit 79 on the right onto A1056/(B1318) towards Wide Open/Killingworth/Gosforth/Great Park.
104 m
Take exit 79 on the right onto A1056/(B1318) towards Wide Open/Killingworth/Gosforth/Great Park.
122 m
Keep left at the fork.
85 m
Move left onto Great Parkway.
Great Parkway510 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Great Parkway.
50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Great Parkway.
Great Parkway456 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto North Park.
83 m
Exit the roundabout onto North Park.
North Park365 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Great Parkway.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Great Parkway.
Great Parkway447 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Great Parkway.
49 m
Exit the roundabout onto Great Parkway.
Great Parkway672 m
Enter Gosforth Park Interchange and take the 5th exit.
Gosforth Park Interchange293 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1/E 15.
A15.1 km
Take exit 76 onto B6324 towards City (West)/Westerhope.
130 m
Take exit 76 on the right onto B6324 towards City (West)/Westerhope.
258 m
Enter Westerhope Interchange and take the 1st exit onto Stamfordham Road/A167.
Westerhope Interchange6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stamfordham Road/A167.
Stamfordham Road449 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Stamfordham Road/A167.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stamfordham Road/A167.
Stamfordham Road498 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Silver Lonnen/A191.
49 m
Exit the roundabout onto Silver Lonnen/A191.
Silver Lonnen11 m
Keep right to stay on Silver Lonnen/A191.
Silver Lonnen178 m
Turn left onto Netherby Drive.
Netherby Drive615 m
Turn right onto Two Ball Lonnen/B1305.
Two Ball Lonnen44 m
Turn left onto Lonnen Avenue.
Lonnen Avenue218 m
Keep right to stay on Lonnen Avenue.
Lonnen Avenue38 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road68 m
Keep left to stay on Grange Road.
Grange Road88 m
Turn right onto Cedar Road.
Cedar Road222 m
Turn right onto Two Ball Lonnen/B1305.
Two Ball Lonnen425 m
Turn left onto Netherby Drive.
Netherby Drive386 m
Turn left onto Kirkheaton Place.
Kirkheaton Place105 m
Turn left onto Heatherslaw Road.
Heatherslaw Road381 m
Turn right onto Ovington Grove.
Ovington Grove137 m
Turn right onto Netherby Drive.
Netherby Drive156 m
Turn left onto Heatherslaw Road.
Heatherslaw Road113 m
Turn left onto Saint Cuthbert's Road.
Saint Cuthbert's Road399 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Saint Cuthbert's Road.
Saint Cuthbert's Road398 m
Turn right onto Heatherslaw Road.
Heatherslaw Road309 m
Turn right onto Ovington Grove.
Ovington Grove24 m
Keep right to stay on Ovington Grove.
Ovington Grove112 m
Turn right onto Netherby Drive.
Netherby Drive300 m
Turn left onto Kirkheaton Place.
Kirkheaton Place105 m
Turn left onto Heatherslaw Road.
Heatherslaw Road185 m
Turn right onto Netherby Drive.
Netherby Drive243 m
Turn right onto Two Ball Lonnen/B1305.
Two Ball Lonnen44 m
Turn left onto Lonnen Avenue.
Lonnen Avenue256 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road119 m
Keep left to stay on Grange Road.
Grange Road37 m
Turn right onto Cedar Road.
Cedar Road222 m
Turn left onto Two Ball Lonnen/B1305.
Two Ball Lonnen512 m
Keep left to take Pease Avenue.
Pease Avenue200 m
Turn left onto Pendower Way.
Pendower Way477 m
Turn left onto Benwell Lane/B1311.
Benwell Lane103 m
Turn right onto Hodgkin Park Road.
Hodgkin Park Road98 m
Keep left to stay on Hodgkin Park Road.
Hodgkin Park Road275 m
Turn left onto Armstrong Road.
Armstrong Road139 m
Turn right onto South Benwell Road.
South Benwell Road288 m
Turn right onto Whitehouse Road.
Whitehouse Road709 m
Turn right onto Chester Pike.
Chester Pike109 m
Keep left to stay on Chester Pike.
Chester Pike518 m
Turn right onto Armstrong Road.
Armstrong Road455 m
Keep right to stay on Armstrong Road.
Armstrong Road84 m
Turn right onto Atkinson Road/B1305. Continue on B1305.
B1305276 m
Move right to stay on B1305.
B1305110 m
Turn left onto Whitehouse Road/B1305.
Whitehouse Road149 m
Turn left onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road2.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Scotswood Road/A695.
66 m
Exit the roundabout onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road1.1 km
Turn left onto William Armstrong Drive.
William Armstrong Drive1.1 km
Turn right onto Scotswood Road/A695.
Scotswood Road911 m
Turn right onto William Armstrong Drive.
William Armstrong Drive121 m
Turn left onto Monarch Road.
Monarch Road90 m
Keep right to stay on Monarch Road.
Monarch Road298 m
Turn right onto Amethyst Road.
Amethyst Road351 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Gateshead (Elswick) · 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.
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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Redheugh Bridge Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 14.7 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 (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 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.
Dunston Christian Spiritualist Church
Start near Dunston Christian Spiritualist Church.
Holmeside Hall Social Club
Continue to Holmeside Hall Social Club.
Redheugh Bridge Park
Continue to Redheugh Bridge Park.
Redheugh Bridge Roundabout
Continue to Redheugh Bridge Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Greggs
Continue to Greggs.
Kestrel Truck Services
Continue to Kestrel Truck Services.
Elswick Parish Church St Stephens & St Pauls
Continue to Elswick Parish Church St Stephens & St Pauls.
Newcastle Motorcycles - Honda
Continue to Newcastle Motorcycles - Honda.
Toolstation
Continue to Toolstation.
Richard Hardie - Fiat
Continue to Richard Hardie - Fiat.
Richard Hardie - Jeep
Continue to Richard Hardie - Jeep.
Screwfix
Continue to Screwfix.
Fawdon Interchange
Continue to Fawdon Interchange, taking the junction with good observation.
Great Parkway
Continue to Great Parkway, taking the junction with good observation.
North Park
Continue to North Park, taking the junction with good observation.
Balloon
Continue to Balloon.
Wing Chau
Continue to Wing Chau.
Citeron
Continue to Citeron.
Atkinson Road Nursery School
Continue to Atkinson Road Nursery School.
St Joseph's Benwell
Finish back near St Joseph's Benwell, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 25 turns · 6 sets of lights
6 roundabouts · 22 turns · 8 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 23 turns · 8 sets of lights
5 roundabouts · 20 turns · 7 sets of lights
This route is 50.2 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Gateshead (Elswick) test centre, not an official DVSA route.