Near Halifax test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts, 22 turns and 6 signalled junctions across 35 navigation steps.
This is an independent 32.4 km practice loop near Halifax test centre, taking roughly 50 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, 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 pubs, churches and shops, 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 Halifax 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 32.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northwest on Cross Street West.
Cross Street West64 m
Turn left onto Moor End Road.
Moor End Road798 m
Turn left onto Moor End Avenue.
Moor End Avenue64 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Moor End Avenue.
Moor End Avenue64 m
Turn right onto Moor End Road.
Moor End Road621 m
Turn right onto Sandbeds Road.
Sandbeds Road247 m
Move left onto Albert Drive.
Albert Drive226 m
Turn right onto Albert Road.
Albert Road131 m
Turn left onto Highroad Well Lane.
Highroad Well Lane849 m
Turn left.
24 m
Turn left onto Roils Head Road.
Roils Head Road454 m
Turn left onto Court Lane.
Court Lane168 m
Turn right onto Sandhall Drive.
Sandhall Drive162 m
Turn right onto Sandhall Lane.
Sandhall Lane126 m
Turn left onto Gibbet Street.
Gibbet Street1.2 km
Turn right onto Queen's Road.
Queen's Road795 m
Turn left onto King Cross Road.
King Cross Road225 m
Move left onto A58/Aachen Way.
A58557 m
Take the exit.
King Cross Street550 m
Turn right onto A629/Barum Top. Continue on A629.
A629161 m
Keep left to take Fountain Street.
Fountain Street32 m
Move left onto Ward's End.
Ward's End381 m
Turn left onto Square Road.
Square Road625 m
Turn left onto Broad Street.
Broad Street216 m
Turn right onto A629/Orange Street.
A629163 m
Enter Orange Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A629/Ovenden Road.
Orange Street Roundabout85 m
Exit the roundabout onto A629/Ovenden Road. Continue on A629.
A6294.7 km
Turn right onto Royd Lane.
Royd Lane50 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Royd Lane.
Royd Lane50 m
Turn left onto A629/Keighley Road. Continue on A629.
A6294.7 km
Enter Orange Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A629/Orange Street.
Orange Street Roundabout108 m
Exit the roundabout onto A629/Orange Street.
A629159 m
Turn left onto Broad Street.
Broad Street185 m
Move left onto Northgate.
Northgate123 m
Move left onto Cross Hills.
Cross Hills876 m
Turn left onto Shroggs Road.
Shroggs Road962 m
Turn right onto Wheatley Road.
Wheatley Road254 m
Turn left onto Wheatley Lane.
Wheatley Lane193 m
Turn left onto Lawrence Street.
Lawrence Street51 m
Turn left onto Ovenden Close.
Ovenden Close78 m
Move right onto Rushworth Street.
Rushworth Street50 m
Turn left onto Wheatley Lane.
Wheatley Lane49 m
Turn left to stay on Wheatley Lane.
Wheatley Lane94 m
Turn left onto Ovenden Way.
Ovenden Way511 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Ovenden Way.
Ovenden Way119 m
Make a right U-turn at Ovenden Green to stay on Ovenden Way.
Ovenden Way603 m
Turn left onto Denfield Lane.
Denfield Lane384 m
Make a sharp left onto Wheatley Road.
Wheatley Road866 m
Move right onto Shroggs Road.
Shroggs Road246 m
Turn right onto Hebble Lane.
Hebble Lane611 m
Turn right onto City Lane.
City Lane87 m
Turn left onto Meadow Lane.
Meadow Lane364 m
Turn left onto Meadow Drive.
Meadow Drive32 m
Turn left onto Long Lane.
Long Lane991 m
Turn left onto Shroggs Road.
Shroggs Road246 m
Move left onto Wheatley Road.
Wheatley Road367 m
Move left onto City Lane.
City Lane247 m
Turn left onto Long Lane.
Long Lane36 m
Turn right onto Brackenbed Lane.
Brackenbed Lane648 m
Turn left onto Mount Pellon.
Mount Pellon188 m
Turn left onto Pellon Lane.
Pellon Lane834 m
Turn right onto Raglan Street.
Raglan Street239 m
Turn right onto Hanson Lane.
Hanson Lane212 m
Turn left onto Lightowler Road.
Lightowler Road188 m
Turn right onto Gibbet Street.
Gibbet Street1.1 km
Turn left onto Spring Hall Lane.
Spring Hall Lane103 m
Turn right onto Spring Hall Drive.
Spring Hall Drive204 m
Turn left onto Spring Hall Lane.
Spring Hall Lane1.0 km
Turn left onto Pellon New Road.
Pellon New Road175 m
Turn left onto Stretchgate Lane.
Stretchgate Lane215 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Halifax · Route 9 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 10.6 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.
Brown Cow
Start near Brown Cow.
Horse and Jockey
Continue to Horse and Jockey.
St Paul's Church
Continue to St Paul's Church.
New Beginnings Community Church
Continue to New Beginnings Community Church.
Royal Oak
Continue to Royal Oak.
Old Post Office
Continue to Old Post Office.
Railway Hotel
Continue to Railway Hotel.
1904 @ Dean Clough
Continue to 1904 @ Dean Clough.
Friendly Inn
Continue to Friendly Inn.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
St Mary's Church
Continue to St Mary's Church.
Illingworth Fire Station
Continue to Illingworth Fire Station.
Percy Shaw
Continue to Percy Shaw.
Stod Fold Dean Clough
Continue to Stod Fold Dean Clough.
Dean Clough
Continue to Dean Clough.
James Hargreaves Bathrooms
Continue to James Hargreaves Bathrooms.
Faizan-e-Madina
Continue to Faizan-e-Madina.
Pellon Baptist Church
Continue to Pellon Baptist Church.
Fountain Head Inn
Continue to Fountain Head Inn.
New Street
Finish back near New Street, completing the loop.
2 roundabouts · 20 turns · 6 sets of lights
3 roundabouts · 13 turns · 5 sets of lights
4 roundabouts · 17 turns · 8 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 15 turns · 7 sets of lights
This route is 32.4 km and takes about 50 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Halifax test centre, not an official DVSA route.