Near Grantham test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts and 25 turns across 40 navigation steps.
This is an independent 20.0 km practice loop near Grantham test centre, taking roughly 1h 46m 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 Somerby Roundabout. 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 roundabout approach & exit, 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 named junctions, 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 Grantham 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:
The full 40-step drive on real, named roads (about 20.0 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive north.
7 m
Turn left.
15 m
Turn right onto Cold Harbour.
Cold Harbour151 m
Turn left to stay on Cold Harbour.
Cold Harbour20 m
Turn left onto A52/Bridge End Road. Continue on A52.
A52857 m
Enter Somerby Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A52/Somerby Hill.
Somerby Roundabout147 m
Exit the roundabout onto A52/Somerby Hill. Continue on A52.
A523.1 km
Turn right onto A52/London Road.
A52656 m
Turn left onto A52/Wharf Road. Continue on A52.
A521.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto A52.
89 m
Exit the roundabout onto A52.
A52544 m
Turn left to stay on A52.
A52104 m
Turn right onto A52/Westgate.
A5269 m
Move left to stay on A52.
A52410 m
Turn right onto A52/London Road.
A52609 m
Keep right to stay on A52/London Road.
A521.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto B1174.
100 m
Exit the roundabout onto B1174.
B1174346 m
Turn left.
469 m
Keep left at the fork.
204 m
Turn left.
78 m
Turn right.
91 m
Turn right.
536 m
Turn right.
716 m
Make a right U-turn.
716 m
Turn left.
536 m
Turn left.
91 m
Turn left.
78 m
Turn right.
673 m
Turn right onto B1174.
B1174334 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto B1174.
64 m
Exit the roundabout onto B1174.
B11741.4 km
Turn right onto A52/Bridge End Road. Continue on A52.
A523.1 km
Enter Somerby Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A52/High Dike.
Somerby Roundabout25 m
Exit the roundabout onto A52/High Dike. Continue on A52.
A52862 m
Turn right onto Cold Harbour.
Cold Harbour20 m
Turn right to stay on Cold Harbour.
Cold Harbour151 m
Turn left.
15 m
Turn right.
7 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Grantham · Roundabout practice loop 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.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Roundabout
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Somerby Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Somerby Roundabout
Start near Somerby Roundabout.
National Tyres & Autocare
Continue to National Tyres & Autocare.
Taco Bell
Continue to Taco Bell.
White Lion
Continue to White Lion.
Jubilee Church Life Centre
Continue to Jubilee Church Life Centre.
Reindeer Inn
Continue to Reindeer Inn.
Tollemache Inn
Continue to Tollemache Inn.
Grantham Baptist Church
Continue to Grantham Baptist Church.
Kingdom Hall
Continue to Kingdom Hall.
Malinka
Continue to Malinka.
A H Music
Continue to A H Music.
Bare Planet
Continue to Bare Planet.
Houghton Jewellers
Continue to Houghton Jewellers.
Barnardo's
Continue to Barnardo's.
Grantham Bus Station
Continue to Grantham Bus Station.
Hair Port
Continue to Hair Port.
Halfords Autocentre
Continue to Halfords Autocentre.
JYSK
Continue to JYSK.
Domino's
Continue to Domino's.
Asia Noodle Bar
Finish back near Asia Noodle Bar, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 16 turns
6 roundabouts · 18 turns
4 roundabouts · 18 turns
4 roundabouts · 10 turns
This route is 20.0 km and takes about 1h 46m to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Grantham test centre, not an official DVSA route.