Near Gloucester test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts, 9 turns and 6 signalled junctions across 22 navigation steps.
This is an independent 24.9 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, 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 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 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 73-step drive on real, named roads (about 24.9 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 Avenue1.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Heron Way.
81 m
Exit the roundabout onto Heron Way.
Heron Way949 m
Turn right onto Hawthorne Avenue.
Hawthorne Avenue510 m
Turn right onto Bittern Avenue.
Bittern Avenue649 m
Turn right onto Fieldfare.
Fieldfare410 m
Turn left onto Heron Way.
Heron Way667 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Wheatway.
67 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wheatway.
Wheatway693 m
Turn right onto Painswick Road/B4073.
Painswick Road1.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A38/Eastern Avenue.
53 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/Eastern Avenue.
A38828 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on A38/Eastern Avenue.
A38860 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A38/Eastern Avenue.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/Eastern Avenue.
A38353 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Reservoir Road.
50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Reservoir Road.
Reservoir Road1.1 km
Turn left to stay on Reservoir Road.
Reservoir Road158 m
Move right to stay on Reservoir Road.
Reservoir Road117 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A38.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38.
A382.0 km
Stay straight to take the ramp.
Cole Avenue96 m
Turn right onto A430.
A43089 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 19 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.
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 6.3 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.
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.
Burger King
Start near Burger King.
Completely Motoring
Continue to Completely Motoring.
Greggs
Continue to Greggs.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Subway
Continue to Subway.
Johnsons Mazda
Continue to Johnsons Mazda.
Johnsons Volvo
Continue to Johnsons Volvo.
Pets at Home
Continue to Pets at Home.
Screwfix
Continue to Screwfix.
Wickes
Continue to Wickes.
Hill Fish & Chip Shop
Continue to Hill Fish & Chip Shop.
Hill Stores
Continue to Hill Stores.
Three Oaks
Continue to Three Oaks.
Christchurch, Abbeydale
Continue to Christchurch, Abbeydale.
Ridge & Furrow
Continue to Ridge & Furrow.
Saint Augustine
Continue to Saint Augustine.
Tesco Painswick Road
Continue to Tesco Painswick Road.
Marco's Kebab Van
Continue to Marco's Kebab Van.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
Saint Aldate
Finish back near Saint Aldate, 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 24.9 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.