Near Gloucester test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts, 12 turns and 3 signalled junctions across 23 navigation steps.
This is an independent 28.2 km practice loop near Gloucester 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.
On this route you’ll practise multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, 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, pubs, churches 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 Gloucester 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 88-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northwest on Falcon Close.
Falcon Close7 m
Turn left to stay on Falcon Close.
Falcon Close12 m
Turn right to stay on Falcon Close.
Falcon Close69 m
Turn right to stay on Falcon Close.
Falcon Close70 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Merlin Drive.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive221 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Drive.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive384 m
Turn left onto Welland Road.
Welland Road206 m
Turn right to stay on Welland Road.
Welland Road36 m
Turn left to stay on Welland Road.
Welland Road149 m
Turn right onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive172 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Drive.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive219 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Drive.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive130 m
Turn left onto Bristol Road/B4008.
Bristol Road280 m
Turn left onto A430.
A430150 m
Take the exit on the right.
Bristol Road725 m
Turn left.
108 m
Turn left.
10 m
Turn right onto Bristol Road.
Bristol Road591 m
Turn left onto A430.
A430150 m
Turn left onto A38/Cole Avenue. Continue on A38.
A382.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Reservoir Road.
70 m
Exit the roundabout onto Reservoir Road.
Reservoir Road272 m
Turn right to stay on Reservoir Road.
Reservoir Road746 m
Turn right onto Baneberry Road.
Baneberry Road787 m
Turn left onto Norbury Avenue.
Norbury Avenue313 m
Turn right onto Painswick Road/B4073.
Painswick Road304 m
Turn right onto Matson Lane.
Matson Lane99 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Matson Lane.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Matson Lane.
Matson Lane1.5 km
Turn left onto Sneedhams Road.
Sneedhams Road166 m
Turn left onto Winnycroft Lane.
Winnycroft Lane280 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Winnycroft Lane.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto Winnycroft Lane.
Winnycroft Lane657 m
Turn left onto Painswick Road/B4073.
Painswick Road2.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Painswick Road/B4073.
42 m
Exit the roundabout onto Painswick Road/B4073. Continue on B4073.
B4073646 m
Turn left onto Upton Street.
Upton Street305 m
Turn right onto Saint James Street.
Saint James Street181 m
Turn right onto Barton Street/B4073. Continue on B4073.
B40731.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A38/Eastern Avenue.
55 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/Eastern Avenue.
A38353 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A38/Finlay Road.
60 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/Finlay Road. Continue on A38.
A381.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A4173.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto A4173.
A41731.5 km
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road1.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Epney Road.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epney Road.
Epney Road174 m
Turn left to stay on Epney Road.
Epney Road109 m
Turn left onto Byron Avenue.
Byron Avenue345 m
Turn left onto Shakespeare Avenue.
Shakespeare Avenue96 m
Turn left onto Lower Tuffley Lane.
Lower Tuffley Lane136 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Lower Tuffley Lane.
Lower Tuffley Lane136 m
Turn right onto Shakespeare Avenue.
Shakespeare Avenue96 m
Turn right onto Byron Avenue.
Byron Avenue345 m
Turn right onto Podsmead Road.
Podsmead Road32 m
Turn right onto A38/Cole Avenue.
A381.0 km
Move left onto A38/Cole Avenue. Continue on A38.
A38103 m
Keep left to take Greenhill Drive.
Greenhill Drive319 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Greenhill Drive.
121 m
Exit the roundabout onto Greenhill Drive.
Greenhill Drive416 m
Move left onto A430.
A430196 m
Take the exit on the right.
Bristol Road725 m
Turn left.
108 m
Turn left.
10 m
Turn right onto Bristol Road.
Bristol Road591 m
Continue.
48 m
Take the exit.
A430211 m
Move right onto Bristol Road/B4008.
Bristol Road250 m
Turn right onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive234 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Drive.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive221 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Drive.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive384 m
Turn left onto Welland Road.
Welland Road206 m
Turn right to stay on Welland Road.
Welland Road36 m
Turn left to stay on Welland Road.
Welland Road149 m
Turn right onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive172 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Merlin Drive.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Merlin Drive.
Merlin Drive219 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Falcon Close.
55 m
Exit the roundabout onto Falcon Close.
Falcon Close70 m
Turn left to stay on Falcon Close.
Falcon Close41 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Gloucester · Route 15 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.
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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 5.0 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 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.
Greggs
Start near Greggs.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Johnsons Volvo
Continue to Johnsons Volvo.
Wickes
Continue to Wickes.
Hill Fish & Chip Shop
Continue to Hill Fish & Chip Shop.
Three Oaks
Continue to Three Oaks.
Saint Augustine
Continue to Saint Augustine.
Saint Katherine
Continue to Saint Katherine.
Brethren Meeting Room
Continue to Brethren Meeting Room.
Plough Inn
Continue to Plough Inn.
St James Church
Continue to St James Church.
St James' Church of England Junior School
Continue to St James' Church of England Junior School.
Saint Aldate
Continue to Saint Aldate.
Trinity Baptist Church
Continue to Trinity Baptist Church.
Fox & Elm
Continue to Fox & Elm.
Grange Baptist
Continue to Grange Baptist.
St George's Church
Continue to St George's Church.
Formula One Autocentres
Continue to Formula One Autocentres.
Atlus School Rutherford House
Continue to Atlus School Rutherford House.
Rutherford House
Finish back near Rutherford House, completing the loop.
12 roundabouts · 23 turns · 5 sets of lights
13 roundabouts · 12 turns · 5 sets of lights
10 roundabouts · 8 turns · 3 sets of lights
11 roundabouts · 11 turns · 5 sets of lights
This route is 28.2 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Gloucester test centre, not an official DVSA route.