Near Golspie test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 26 turns across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 68.5 km practice loop near Golspie 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 dual-carriageway joins, national-speed roads, 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, churches, stations and pubs, 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 Golspie 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 71-step drive on real, named roads (about 68.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast on Back Road.
Back Road71 m
Turn right onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road251 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9531 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road866 m
Turn left onto Seaforth Road.
Seaforth Road262 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9173 m
Turn left onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road256 m
Turn right onto Back Road.
Back Road717 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9531 m
Turn right onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road256 m
Make a sharp left to stay on Fountain Road.
Fountain Road272 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9607 m
Turn left onto South Argo Terrace.
South Argo Terrace441 m
Turn left onto Tower Street.
Tower Street218 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street55 m
Turn left to stay on Ross Street.
Ross Street224 m
Turn right onto Argo Terrace.
Argo Terrace68 m
Turn left onto Sibell Road.
Sibell Road97 m
Turn right to stay on Sibell Road.
Sibell Road35 m
Turn right.
96 m
Turn right onto South Argo Terrace.
South Argo Terrace42 m
Turn right onto Sibell Road.
Sibell Road277 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Old Bank Road. Continue on A9/E 15.
A91.1 km
Turn right onto Seaforth Road.
Seaforth Road262 m
Turn right onto Back Road.
Back Road170 m
Turn right onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road251 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Main Street. Continue on A9/E 15.
A98.5 km
Turn right onto Dudgeon Park Road.
Dudgeon Park Road243 m
Move left onto Seaforth Place.
Seaforth Place131 m
Turn right onto Tarbat Crescent.
Tarbat Crescent64 m
Turn right onto Uppat Place.
Uppat Place136 m
Turn right onto Dudgeon Drive.
Dudgeon Drive112 m
Turn left onto Dudgeon Park Road.
Dudgeon Park Road243 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15.
A97.6 km
Turn right onto Sibell Road.
Sibell Road277 m
Turn right onto Argo Terrace.
Argo Terrace68 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street500 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road372 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Main Street. Continue on A9/E 15.
A913.6 km
Turn left onto Poles Road/B9168.
Poles Road3.3 km
Turn left onto Evelix Road/A949. Continue on A949.
A949578 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street379 m
Move right onto Stafford Road.
Stafford Road570 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road474 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street.
Bridge Street9 m
Turn right onto Castle Street/A949. Continue on A949.
A949577 m
Turn right onto Poles Road/B9168.
Poles Road3.3 km
Turn right onto A9/E 15.
A913.6 km
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road717 m
Turn right onto Rhives Road.
Rhives Road25 m
Turn right to stay on Rhives Road.
Rhives Road30 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road324 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street500 m
Turn left onto Argo Terrace.
Argo Terrace79 m
Turn left onto Tower Street.
Tower Street218 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street55 m
Turn left to stay on Ross Street.
Ross Street224 m
Turn left onto Argo Terrace.
Argo Terrace79 m
Turn left onto Tower Street.
Tower Street218 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street55 m
Turn left to stay on Ross Street.
Ross Street224 m
Turn left onto Argo Terrace.
Argo Terrace79 m
Turn left onto Tower Street.
Tower Street218 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street55 m
Turn right to stay on Ross Street.
Ross Street275 m
Turn right onto Back Road.
Back Road494 m
Turn left onto Seaforth Road.
Seaforth Road262 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9703 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road696 m
Turn left onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road173 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Golspie · Route 1 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.
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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 46.3 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.
National-speed roads
Parts of this route run at the national speed limit. Keep a safe following distance and plan overtakes only where it is clearly safe and legal.
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.
Co-op Food
Start near Co-op Food.
Golspie Stone Shop
Continue to Golspie Stone Shop.
Mei's Food
Continue to Mei's Food.
St Andrews Church
Continue to St Andrews Church.
Arches Antiques
Continue to Arches Antiques.
Robert Grant Butcher & Poulterer
Continue to Robert Grant Butcher & Poulterer.
Tyke's Charity Shop
Continue to Tyke's Charity Shop.
Dunrobin Castle
Continue to Dunrobin Castle.
Dunrobin Castle Railway Station
Continue to Dunrobin Castle Railway Station.
Càrn Liath
Continue to Càrn Liath.
Sutherland Memorial
Continue to Sutherland Memorial.
Golspie
Continue to Golspie.
Nisa
Continue to Nisa.
Dornoch Castle Beer Garden and Whisky Bar
Continue to Dornoch Castle Beer Garden and Whisky Bar.
Eagle Hotel
Continue to Eagle Hotel.
West Church Hall
Continue to West Church Hall.
Dornoch Christian Fellowship
Continue to Dornoch Christian Fellowship.
Ross House
Continue to Ross House.
UHI North Highland - Dornoch Campus
Continue to UHI North Highland - Dornoch Campus.
Golspie War Memorial
Finish back near Golspie War Memorial, completing the loop.
This route is 68.5 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Golspie test centre, not an official DVSA route.