Near Golspie test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 30 turns across 33 navigation steps.
This is an independent 19.5 km practice loop near Golspie 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.
On this route you’ll practise dual-carriageway joins, 20 mph zones, 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 19 catalogued landmarks, including shops, churches and stations, 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 56-step drive on real, named roads (about 19.5 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest on Back Road.
Back Road98 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 Road1.2 km
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Station Road.
A932 m
Turn left onto Ferry Road.
Ferry Road364 m
Turn left onto Church Street.
Church Street540 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9877 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road696 m
Turn left onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road251 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9607 m
Turn left onto South Argo Terrace.
South Argo Terrace362 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street224 m
Turn right to stay on Ross Street.
Ross Street55 m
Turn right onto Tower Street.
Tower Street218 m
Turn right onto Argo Terrace.
Argo Terrace147 m
Turn left onto Sibell Road.
Sibell Road277 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Old Bank Road. Continue on A9/E 15.
A9945 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. Continue on A9/E 15.
A9945 m
Turn left onto Sibell Road.
Sibell Road181 m
Turn left to stay on Sibell Road.
Sibell Road35 m
Turn right.
96 m
Turn right onto South Argo Terrace.
South Argo Terrace110 m
Turn left onto Ross Street.
Ross Street500 m
Turn right onto Back Road.
Back Road324 m
Turn left 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 Road120 m
Turn right onto Millicent Avenue.
Millicent Avenue76 m
Turn right onto Lindsay Street.
Lindsay Street112 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Lindsay Street.
Lindsay Street112 m
Turn right onto Millicent Avenue.
Millicent Avenue72 m
Turn left onto Grant Crescent.
Grant Crescent114 m
Turn left onto Lindsay Street.
Lindsay Street58 m
Turn right onto Millicent Avenue.
Millicent Avenue76 m
Turn left onto Seaforth Road.
Seaforth Road120 m
Turn right onto Back Road.
Back Road866 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Main Street.
A9531 m
Turn right onto Fountain Road.
Fountain Road256 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road439 m
Turn right onto A9/E 15/Station Road.
A932 m
Turn left onto Ferry Road.
Ferry Road364 m
Turn left onto Church Street.
Church Street540 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Station Road.
A9512 m
Turn right.
62 m
Move left.
423 m
Turn left onto A9/E 15/Station Road.
A9284 m
Turn left onto Back Road.
Back Road291 m
Turn right 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 2 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.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Dual-carriageway join
About 7.0 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.
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 19 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Arches Antiques
Start near Arches Antiques.
Co-op Food
Continue to Co-op Food.
Golspie Stone Shop
Continue to Golspie Stone Shop.
Identity
Continue to Identity.
Lindsay & Co
Continue to Lindsay & Co.
Mei's Food
Continue to Mei's Food.
Police & Highland Council Service Point
Continue to Police & Highland Council Service Point.
Robert Grant Butcher & Poulterer
Continue to Robert Grant Butcher & Poulterer.
Tyke's Charity Shop
Continue to Tyke's Charity Shop.
Orcadian Stone Company
Continue to Orcadian Stone Company.
Sutherland Swimming Pool Complex
Continue to Sutherland Swimming Pool Complex.
Golspie Free Church of Scotland
Continue to Golspie Free Church of Scotland.
Golspie War Memorial
Continue to Golspie War Memorial.
Nisa
Continue to Nisa.
St Andrews Church
Continue to St Andrews Church.
Lisa's
Continue to Lisa's.
Countess of Sutherland Memorial Fountain
Continue to Countess of Sutherland Memorial Fountain.
Golspie
Continue to Golspie.
Lawson Memorial Hospital
Finish back near Lawson Memorial Hospital, completing the loop.
This route is 19.5 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Golspie test centre, not an official DVSA route.