Near Hartlepool test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts, 19 turns and 3 signalled junctions across 30 navigation steps.
This is an independent 33.4 km practice route near Hartlepool 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 multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads 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 stations, parks, shops 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 Hartlepool 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 83-step drive on real, named roads (about 33.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
23 m
Turn right.
31 m
Turn left onto Mainsforth Terrace.
Mainsforth Terrace10 m
Turn right onto Burn Road.
Burn Road671 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A689/Stranton.
81 m
Exit the roundabout onto A689/Stranton. Continue on A689.
A689706 m
Make a right U-turn onto A689/Stranton.
A689720 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Stockton Road.
94 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stockton Road.
Stockton Road291 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Blakelock Gardens.
56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Blakelock Gardens.
Blakelock Gardens454 m
Turn right onto Brinkburn Road.
Brinkburn Road296 m
Turn left onto Elwick Road.
Elwick Road726 m
Turn right to stay on Elwick Road.
Elwick Road247 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road175 m
Turn right onto Newlands Avenue.
Newlands Avenue281 m
Turn left onto Westland Avenue.
Westland Avenue100 m
Turn left onto Claremont Drive.
Claremont Drive276 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road618 m
Turn left onto Osborne Road.
Osborne Road65 m
Turn left onto Stanhope Avenue.
Stanhope Avenue224 m
Turn left onto Eltringham Road.
Eltringham Road68 m
Turn right onto Park Road.
Park Road689 m
Turn left onto Elwick Road.
Elwick Road247 m
Move right onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road2.0 km
Turn left onto Rosmere Way.
Rosmere Way49 m
Turn right onto Rossmere Way.
Rossmere Way56 m
Turn right onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Marlowe Road.
Marlowe Road643 m
Turn left onto Masefield Road.
Masefield Road464 m
Turn left onto Brierton Lane.
Brierton Lane743 m
Turn left onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road44 m
Turn right onto Brierton Lane.
Brierton Lane649 m
Turn right onto Ardrossan Road.
Ardrossan Road266 m
Turn right onto Rossmere Way.
Rossmere Way659 m
Turn right onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road207 m
Turn left onto Dalkeith Road.
Dalkeith Road469 m
Turn left onto Eskdale Road.
Eskdale Road296 m
Turn left onto Wynyard Road.
Wynyard Road470 m
Turn left onto Greenock Road.
Greenock Road314 m
Turn left onto Fordyce Road.
Fordyce Road272 m
Turn left onto Eskdale Road.
Eskdale Road53 m
Turn left onto Wynyard Road.
Wynyard Road32 m
Turn right onto Kilmarnock Road.
Kilmarnock Road382 m
Turn left onto Owton Manor Lane.
Owton Manor Lane696 m
Turn right onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road49 m
Turn left onto Owton Manor Lane.
Owton Manor Lane381 m
Turn left onto Owton Close.
Owton Close62 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Owton Close.
Owton Close62 m
Turn right onto Owton Manor Lane.
Owton Manor Lane382 m
Turn right onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road49 m
Turn left onto Owton Manor Lane.
Owton Manor Lane781 m
Turn left onto Maxwell Road.
Maxwell Road265 m
Turn right onto Moffat Road.
Moffat Road56 m
Turn right onto Monach Road.
Monach Road164 m
Turn right onto Motherwell Road.
Motherwell Road56 m
Turn left onto Maxwell Road.
Maxwell Road103 m
Turn right onto Owton Manor Lane.
Owton Manor Lane781 m
Turn left onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road613 m
Turn right onto Darvel Road.
Darvel Road62 m
Turn left onto Dunbar Road.
Dunbar Road25 m
Turn right to stay on Dunbar Road.
Dunbar Road108 m
Turn right to stay on Dunbar Road.
Dunbar Road40 m
Turn left onto Darvel Road.
Darvel Road62 m
Turn left onto Catcote Road.
Catcote Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Truro Drive.
Truro Drive509 m
Turn left onto A689/Stockton Road.
A689564 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A689/Stockton Road.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto A689/Stockton Road. Continue on A689.
A6891.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A689/Belle Vue Way.
38 m
Exit the roundabout onto A689/Belle Vue Way. Continue on A689.
A6891.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A689/Belle Vue Way.
116 m
Exit the roundabout onto A689/Belle Vue Way.
A6891.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Brenda Road/B1277.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brenda Road/B1277.
Brenda Road273 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Brenda Road/B1277.
70 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brenda Road/B1277.
Brenda Road711 m
Turn right onto Seaton Lane.
Seaton Lane522 m
Make a left U-turn at Jutland Road onto Seaton Lane/B1276.
Seaton Lane484 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Seaton Lane/B1276.
58 m
Exit the roundabout onto Seaton Lane/B1276. Continue on B1276.
B12761.5 km
Turn left onto The Cliff/A178.
A1782.6 km
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Hartlepool · Route 11 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.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
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 6.1 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.
Victoria Road
Start near Victoria Road.
Burn Valley
Continue to Burn Valley.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
Bethesda Gospel Hall
Continue to Bethesda Gospel Hall.
Phonefix
Continue to Phonefix.
St Columba's Church Centre
Continue to St Columba's Church Centre.
Catcote Futures
Continue to Catcote Futures.
Saint James the Apostle
Continue to Saint James the Apostle.
Primo Pizzeria
Continue to Primo Pizzeria.
Premier
Continue to Premier.
Owton Manor Baptist Church
Continue to Owton Manor Baptist Church.
Saint Patrick's Church
Continue to Saint Patrick's Church.
Rossmere Salon
Continue to Rossmere Salon.
Fens Hardware
Continue to Fens Hardware.
Travellers Rest
Continue to Travellers Rest.
Belle View Social Club
Continue to Belle View Social Club.
Mains Electrical Distributors
Continue to Mains Electrical Distributors.
Tones Renault
Continue to Tones Renault.
Seaton Carew Methodist Church
Continue to Seaton Carew Methodist Church.
Hornseys Bar
Finish back near Hornseys Bar, completing the loop.
6 roundabouts · 19 turns · 5 sets of lights
13 roundabouts · 13 turns · 8 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 13 turns · 5 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 13 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 33.4 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Hartlepool test centre, not an official DVSA route.