Near Hastings test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 1 roundabout, 28 turns and 1 signalled junction across 34 navigation steps.
This is an independent 36.3 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 Park Gates 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, dual-carriageway joins, national-speed roads, 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 named junctions, churches, stations and parks, 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 100-step drive on real, named roads (about 36.3 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 Ridge876 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 Road65 m
Keep left to take London Road/A2102.
London Road874 m
Turn left onto Hatherley Road.
Hatherley Road62 m
Keep right to stay on Hatherley Road.
Hatherley Road39 m
Turn right onto Stainsby Street.
Stainsby Street73 m
Turn right onto Station Approach.
Station Approach148 m
Turn right onto London Road/A2102.
London Road537 m
Turn left onto Brittany Road.
Brittany Road358 m
Turn left onto Dane Road.
Dane Road89 m
Turn left onto Cumberland Gardens.
Cumberland Gardens166 m
Turn left onto Charles Road.
Charles Road150 m
Turn left onto Brittany Road.
Brittany Road239 m
Turn left onto Dane Road.
Dane Road89 m
Turn left onto Cumberland Gardens.
Cumberland Gardens167 m
Turn right onto Charles Road.
Charles Road182 m
Turn left onto Clyde Road.
Clyde Road145 m
Turn left onto London Road/A2102.
London Road616 m
Turn right onto Tower Road.
Tower Road175 m
Turn left onto A21/Bohemia Road.
A2139 m
Turn left onto Lower South Road.
Lower South Road141 m
Turn left onto London Road/A2102.
London Road51 m
Turn right onto Springfield Valley Road.
Springfield Valley Road24 m
Keep right to stay on Springfield Valley Road.
Springfield Valley Road173 m
Turn left onto Combermere Road.
Combermere Road217 m
Turn left onto Tower Road West.
Tower Road West284 m
Turn left onto London Road/A2102. Continue on London Road.
London Road371 m
Turn left onto St. Matthew's Road.
St. Matthew's Road86 m
Turn right to stay on St. Matthew's Road.
St. Matthew's Road140 m
Turn left onto Sedlescombe Road South.
Sedlescombe Road South331 m
Keep left to stay on Sedlescombe Road South.
Sedlescombe Road South10 m
Turn left onto Springfield Road.
Springfield Road133 m
Keep right to stay on Springfield Road.
Springfield Road131 m
Keep left to stay on Springfield Road.
Springfield Road155 m
Turn left onto London Road/A2102.
London Road43 m
Turn right onto North Road.
North Road99 m
Turn right onto A21/Bohemia Road.
A21582 m
Turn right onto Church Road.
Church Road773 m
Turn left onto St. Margaret's Road.
St. Margaret's Road505 m
Turn right onto Schwerte Way.
Schwerte Way50 m
Turn right onto A259/Verulam Place. Continue on A259.
A259619 m
Turn right onto St. Margaret's Road.
St. Margaret's Road714 m
Turn left onto White Rock Road.
White Rock Road125 m
Move left onto A21/Bohemia Road.
A21142 m
Keep left to stay on A21/Bohemia Road.
A2185 m
Turn left onto Falaise Road.
Falaise Road45 m
Keep right to stay on Falaise Road.
Falaise Road249 m
Turn left onto St. Margaret's Road.
St. Margaret's Road115 m
Turn right onto Schwerte Way.
Schwerte Way50 m
Turn left onto A259/White Rock.
A259192 m
Keep right to stay on A259.
A259432 m
Turn left onto Harold Place/A21.
Harold Place350 m
Turn right onto Devonshire Road.
Devonshire Road213 m
Turn left onto South Terrace.
South Terrace146 m
Turn right onto Braybrooke Road.
Braybrooke Road21 m
Keep left to stay on Braybrooke Road.
Braybrooke Road110 m
Keep left to stay on Braybrooke Road.
Braybrooke Road321 m
Enter Park Gates Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto St Helen's Road/A2101.
Park Gates Roundabout4 m
Exit the roundabout onto St Helen's Road/A2101.
St Helen's Road2.0 km
Keep right to stay on St Helen's Road/A2101.
St Helen's Road588 m
Turn right onto A21/Sedlescombe Road North.
A211.2 km
Keep left to stay on A21.
A21952 m
Turn right onto Westfield Lane/A28.
Westfield Lane2.3 km
Keep right to stay on A28.
A28703 m
Turn right onto Moor Lane.
Moor Lane264 m
Turn left onto Moor Road.
Moor Road12 m
Turn left to stay on Moor Road.
Moor Road351 m
Turn left onto Main Road/A28. Continue on A28.
A28886 m
Keep left to take Westfield Lane/A28.
Westfield Lane2.4 km
Turn left onto A21/Ebden's Hill. Continue on A21.
A211.3 km
Keep straight to stay on A21/Sedlescombe Road North.
A21428 m
Keep right to stay on A21/Sedlescombe Road North.
A21425 m
Turn left onto St Helen's Road/A2101.
St Helen's Road75 m
Keep left to stay on St Helen's Road/A2101.
St Helen's Road512 m
Keep left to stay on St Helen's Road/A2101.
St Helen's Road2.0 km
Enter Park Gates Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Bethune Way.
Park Gates Roundabout35 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bethune Way.
Bethune Way229 m
Keep right to take Braybrooke Road.
Braybrooke Road222 m
Turn right onto Priory Avenue.
Priory Avenue735 m
Keep left to take Amherst Road.
Amherst Road309 m
Turn right onto Amherst Close.
Amherst Close131 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Amherst Close.
Amherst Close131 m
Turn right onto Amherst Road.
Amherst Road133 m
Keep left to stay on Amherst Road.
Amherst Road227 m
Turn right onto Clarence Road.
Clarence Road58 m
Turn left onto Upper South Road.
Upper South Road71 m
Turn left onto A21/Bohemia Road.
A21322 m
Turn right onto Chapel Park Road.
Chapel Park Road519 m
Turn right onto Ellenslea Road.
Ellenslea Road89 m
Turn right onto Southwater Road.
Southwater Road58 m
Turn left onto Hatherley Road.
Hatherley Road78 m
Turn right onto Alexandra Road.
Alexandra Road53 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Hastings · Route 4 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.
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.
Roundabout
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Conquest Roundabout, Park Gates Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 8.0 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.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 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.
Alexandra Gospel Hall
Continue to Alexandra Gospel Hall.
St Leonards Warrior Square
Continue to St Leonards Warrior Square.
Markwick Gardens
Continue to Markwick Gardens.
Dripping Spring
Continue to Dripping Spring.
St Matthew's Church
Continue to St Matthew's Church.
St Leonards-on-Sea Methodist Church
Continue to St Leonards-on-Sea Methodist Church.
Sonrise Church
Continue to Sonrise Church.
St Mary Magdalene's Church
Continue to St Mary Magdalene's Church.
White Rock Gardens
Continue to White Rock Gardens.
Christian Spiritualist Church
Continue to Christian Spiritualist Church.
Bentley & Hall Sofas
Continue to Bentley & Hall Sofas.
Peace Garden
Continue to Peace Garden.
Dunelm
Continue to Dunelm.
St John the Baptist
Continue to St John the Baptist.
Birchwood Ford
Continue to Birchwood Ford.
Park Gates Roundabout
Continue to Park Gates Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Amherst Gardens
Continue to Amherst Gardens.
North Star
Continue to North Star.
St Leonards Baptist Church
Finish back near St Leonards Baptist Church, 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 36.3 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.