Near Hastings test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts, 26 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 34 navigation steps.
This is an independent 28.8 km practice route near Hastings test centre, taking roughly 45 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.
Along the way you'll meet Conquest Roundabout and Beauport Park 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 multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, national-speed roads, 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 named junctions, shops, churches 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 Hastings 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 92-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.8 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
95 m
Turn right onto The Ridge/B2093.
The Ridge143 m
Enter Conquest Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto The Ridge/B2093.
Conquest Roundabout45 m
Exit the roundabout onto The Ridge/B2093.
The Ridge877 m
Turn left onto Harrow Lane.
Harrow Lane1.4 km
Turn left onto A21/Sedlescombe Road North.
A211.1 km
Take the exit.
A2190 m
Move left onto A21/London Road.
A21298 m
Turn right onto A21/London Road. Continue on London Road.
London Road940 m
Turn left onto Hatherley Road.
Hatherley Road129 m
Turn right onto Southwater Road.
Southwater Road58 m
Turn left onto Ellenslea Road.
Ellenslea Road89 m
Turn left onto Chapel Park Road.
Chapel Park Road458 m
Turn left onto Saint Peter's Road.
Saint Peter's Road332 m
Turn right onto Tower Road.
Tower Road101 m
Turn left onto A21/Bohemia Road. Continue on A21.
A21634 m
Turn right onto A21/Sedlescombe Road North.
A211.4 km
Turn right onto Hollinghurst Road.
Hollinghurst Road203 m
Turn left onto Harrow Lane.
Harrow Lane549 m
Turn left onto Roundwood Road.
Roundwood Road396 m
Turn right onto Harrow Lane.
Harrow Lane589 m
Turn right onto A21/Sedlescombe Road North.
A21200 m
Turn left onto Upper Church Road.
Upper Church Road344 m
Turn right onto Battle Road/B2159.
Battle Road662 m
Turn left onto Telford Road.
Telford Road116 m
Move left onto Old Church Road.
Old Church Road468 m
Turn right onto Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North73 m
Turn left onto Edward Terrace.
Edward Terrace119 m
Turn left onto Old Church Road.
Old Church Road273 m
Turn left onto Lancaster Road.
Lancaster Road295 m
Turn right onto Tile Barn Road.
Tile Barn Road67 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Gresley Road.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gresley Road.
Gresley Road167 m
Turn right onto Castleham Road.
Castleham Road480 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Castleham Road.
85 m
Exit the roundabout onto Castleham Road.
Castleham Road662 m
Move left onto Napier Road.
Napier Road429 m
Turn right onto Queensway/A2690.
Queensway1.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Queensway/A2690.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Queensway/A2690.
Queensway214 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto The Ridge West/A2100.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto The Ridge West/A2100.
The Ridge West655 m
Enter Beauport Park Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Battle Road/B2159.
Beauport Park Roundabout2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Battle Road/B2159.
Battle Road1.1 km
Turn right onto Telford Road.
Telford Road116 m
Move left onto Old Church Road.
Old Church Road468 m
Turn right onto Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North270 m
Turn right to stay on Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North13 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North13 m
Turn left to stay on Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North148 m
Turn right onto Ormerod Avenue.
Ormerod Avenue146 m
Turn right onto Quebec Road.
Quebec Road532 m
Turn left onto Dymond Road.
Dymond Road71 m
Turn right onto Chambers Road.
Chambers Road282 m
Turn left onto Ford Road.
Ford Road142 m
Turn left onto Blackman Avenue.
Blackman Avenue591 m
Turn left onto Marline Road.
Marline Road182 m
Turn right onto Quebec Road.
Quebec Road188 m
Turn left onto Ormerod Avenue.
Ormerod Avenue146 m
Turn left onto Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North148 m
Turn right to stay on Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North13 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North13 m
Turn left to stay on Wishing Tree Road North.
Wishing Tree Road North148 m
Turn right onto Ormerod Avenue.
Ormerod Avenue146 m
Turn right onto Quebec Road.
Quebec Road188 m
Turn left onto Marline Road.
Marline Road182 m
Turn right onto Blackman Avenue.
Blackman Avenue669 m
Turn right onto Redgeland Rise.
Redgeland Rise238 m
Turn right onto Wishing Tree Road.
Wishing Tree Road101 m
Turn right onto Chambers Road.
Chambers Road100 m
Turn right onto Ford Road.
Ford Road142 m
Turn left onto Blackman Avenue.
Blackman Avenue899 m
Turn right onto Battle Road/B2159.
Battle Road894 m
Move right onto Sedlescombe Road South.
Sedlescombe Road South1.2 km
Turn left onto Dane Road.
Dane Road295 m
Turn left onto Cumberland Gardens.
Cumberland Gardens167 m
Turn left onto Charles Road.
Charles Road150 m
Turn left onto Brittany Road.
Brittany Road239 m
Turn left onto Dane Road.
Dane Road8 m
Turn right onto Brittany Road.
Brittany Road215 m
Turn left onto Upper Maze Hill.
Upper Maze Hill36 m
Turn left onto Pevensey Road.
Pevensey Road273 m
Turn left onto Charles Road.
Charles Road99 m
Turn right onto Clyde Road.
Clyde Road145 m
Turn left onto London Road/A2102.
London Road368 m
Turn left onto Brittany Road.
Brittany Road119 m
Turn left onto Charles Road.
Charles Road87 m
Turn left onto Anglesea Terrace.
Anglesea Terrace116 m
Turn right onto London Road/A2102.
London Road105 m
Turn left onto Alexandra Road.
Alexandra Road52 m
Turn right to stay on Alexandra Road.
Alexandra Road108 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Hastings · 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.
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.
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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Conquest Roundabout, Beauport Park Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 3.8 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 (30, 40, 60 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.
Conquest Roundabout
Start near Conquest Roundabout.
Eldridges Animal Feeds
Continue to Eldridges Animal Feeds.
Calvary Chapel Hastings
Continue to Calvary Chapel Hastings.
St Luke's United Reformed Church
Continue to St Luke's United Reformed Church.
St Matthew's Church
Continue to St Matthew's Church.
Tower
Continue to Tower.
St Leonards Baptist Church
Continue to St Leonards Baptist Church.
St Leonards Warrior Square
Continue to St Leonards Warrior Square.
Christ Church CE Primary & Nursery Academy
Continue to Christ Church CE Primary & Nursery Academy.
St Leonards-on-Sea Methodist Church
Continue to St Leonards-on-Sea Methodist Church.
Kings Barbers
Continue to Kings Barbers.
Welcome
Continue to Welcome.
Holy Redeemer
Continue to Holy Redeemer.
St John the Evangelist
Continue to St John the Evangelist.
Beauport Park Roundabout
Continue to Beauport Park Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
St Anne
Continue to St Anne.
Deep Blue (St Leonards-On-Sea)
Continue to Deep Blue (St Leonards-On-Sea).
Ebenezer Baptist Chapel
Continue to Ebenezer Baptist Chapel.
Independent Church
Continue to Independent Church.
Markwick Gardens
Finish back near Markwick Gardens, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 28 turns · 2 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 16 turns · 1 set of lights
22 turns · 3 sets of lights
1 roundabout · 18 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 28.8 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Hastings test centre, not an official DVSA route.