Near Gloucester test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 21 turns and 3 signalled junctions across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 25.8 km practice loop near Gloucester 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 Greenhill Drive. 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, 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, named junctions, 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 99-step drive on real, named roads (about 25.7 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.
A430318 m
Keep left to take Greenhill Drive.
Greenhill Drive319 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit.
45 m
Exit the roundabout.
30 m
Move left onto Bodiam Avenue.
Bodiam Avenue1.2 km
Turn left onto Chatsworth Avenue.
Chatsworth Avenue363 m
Turn right onto Warwick Avenue.
Warwick Avenue219 m
Turn right onto Vincent Avenue.
Vincent Avenue69 m
Turn right onto Longleat Avenue.
Longleat Avenue247 m
Turn left onto Chatsworth Avenue.
Chatsworth Avenue312 m
Turn left onto Charlecote Avenue.
Charlecote Avenue234 m
Turn left onto Thoresby Avenue.
Thoresby Avenue291 m
Turn right onto Chatsworth Avenue.
Chatsworth Avenue479 m
Turn right to stay on Chatsworth Avenue.
Chatsworth Avenue87 m
Turn right onto Windsor Drive.
Windsor Drive69 m
Turn left to stay on Windsor Drive.
Windsor Drive173 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road946 m
Turn left onto Stroud Road/A4173. Continue on A4173.
A41731.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A38/Finlay Road.
67 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/Finlay Road. Continue on A38.
A381.1 km
Turn left onto Bibury Road.
Bibury Road113 m
Turn left onto Sapperton Road.
Sapperton Road480 m
Turn left onto Selwyn Road.
Selwyn Road83 m
Turn left onto A38/Finlay Road. Continue on A38.
A38491 m
Turn left onto Bibury Road.
Bibury Road113 m
Turn left onto Sapperton Road.
Sapperton Road480 m
Turn right onto Selwyn Road.
Selwyn Road83 m
Turn left onto Southfield Road.
Southfield Road464 m
Turn left onto Pembury Road.
Pembury Road65 m
Turn right onto A38/Finlay Road.
A38122 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A4173.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto A4173.
A41731.2 km
Turn left.
78 m
Turn left.
17 m
Turn right onto Stroud Road/A4173. Continue on A4173.
A41731.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A38.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38.
A38191 m
Turn left onto Firwood Drive.
Firwood Drive724 m
Turn right onto Tuffley Lane.
Tuffley Lane680 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Epney Road.
58 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 4 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.
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 2.6 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.
Burger King
Start near Burger King.
Greggs
Continue to Greggs.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Greenhill Drive
Continue to Greenhill Drive, taking the junction with good observation.
Pets at Home
Continue to Pets at Home.
Pike and Musket
Continue to Pike and Musket.
Fox & Elm
Continue to Fox & Elm.
Trinity Baptist Church
Continue to Trinity Baptist Church.
Co-operative Food
Continue to Co-operative Food.
Manuels
Continue to Manuels.
Wongs Kitchen
Continue to Wongs Kitchen.
Asda Express
Continue to Asda Express.
Select Convenience (Bargain Booze)
Continue to Select Convenience (Bargain Booze).
Whitson Barber Shop
Continue to Whitson Barber Shop.
Johnsons Mazda
Continue to Johnsons Mazda.
Johnsons Volvo
Continue to Johnsons Volvo.
Formula One Autocentres
Continue to Formula One Autocentres.
Wickes
Continue to Wickes.
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 25.8 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Gloucester test centre, not an official DVSA route.