Near Hawick test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts and 20 turns across 27 navigation steps.
This is an independent 18.5 km practice route near Hawick test centre, taking roughly 35 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, 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 shops, schools, parks 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 Hawick 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 87-step drive on real, named roads (about 21.0 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest on Burnfoot Road.
Burnfoot Road979 m
Turn left to stay on Burnfoot Road.
Burnfoot Road156 m
Move left onto A7/Wilton Hill.
A7578 m
Enter North Bridge Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A698.
North Bridge Roundabout32 m
Exit the roundabout onto A698.
A698273 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Weensland Road/A698.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Weensland Road/A698.
Weensland Road64 m
Turn left onto Trinity Street.
Trinity Street129 m
Turn left onto Earl Street.
Earl Street174 m
Turn left onto Duke Street.
Duke Street186 m
Turn left onto Mart Street/A698.
Mart Street205 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Weensland Road/A698.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Weensland Road/A698.
Weensland Road64 m
Turn left onto Trinity Street.
Trinity Street274 m
Turn left onto Noble Place.
Noble Place129 m
Turn left onto Duke Street.
Duke Street139 m
Turn left onto Earl Street.
Earl Street173 m
Turn left onto Trinity Street.
Trinity Street145 m
Turn left onto Noble Place.
Noble Place72 m
Turn left onto Arthur Street.
Arthur Street138 m
Turn left onto Earl Street.
Earl Street238 m
Turn left onto Weensland Road/A698.
Weensland Road801 m
Turn left onto Oliver Park.
Oliver Park370 m
Turn right onto Weensland Road/A698.
Weensland Road605 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bourtree Place/B6399.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bourtree Place/B6399. Continue on B6399.
B6399602 m
Turn left onto Tower Knowe/B6399. Continue on B6399.
B6399670 m
Turn left onto Stonefield Place.
Stonefield Place188 m
Keep right to stay on Stonefield Place.
Stonefield Place69 m
Turn left to stay on Stonefield Place.
Stonefield Place57 m
Turn right onto Liddesdale Road/B6399. Continue on B6399.
B6399180 m
Turn left onto Kirk Wynd.
Kirk Wynd496 m
Turn right onto Drumlanrig Place.
Drumlanrig Place64 m
Keep left to stay on Drumlanrig Place.
Drumlanrig Place23 m
Turn right onto Green Terrace.
Green Terrace134 m
Turn right onto Bright Street.
Bright Street139 m
Turn left onto Beaconsfield Terrace.
Beaconsfield Terrace197 m
Turn right onto A7/Buccleuch Road. Continue on A7.
A7225 m
Turn left onto A7/Sandbed. Continue on A7.
A7881 m
Enter North Bridge Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A7/Wilton Hill.
North Bridge Roundabout9 m
Exit the roundabout onto A7/Wilton Hill.
A7316 m
Turn right onto Wilton Hill Terrace.
Wilton Hill Terrace142 m
Keep right to stay on Wilton Hill Terrace.
Wilton Hill Terrace261 m
Turn left onto Wilton Glebe.
Wilton Glebe243 m
Turn right to stay on Burnfoot Road.
Burnfoot Road795 m
Turn left onto Kenilworth Avenue.
Kenilworth Avenue117 m
Turn left onto Fraser Avenue.
Fraser Avenue393 m
Turn left onto Hillend Drive.
Hillend Drive82 m
Turn right to stay on Hillend Drive.
Hillend Drive210 m
Turn left to stay on Hillend Drive.
Hillend Drive279 m
Keep straight to stay on Hillend Drive.
Hillend Drive101 m
Turn right onto Scott Crescent.
Scott Crescent204 m
Turn left onto Galalaw Road.
Galalaw Road56 m
Turn right onto Henderson Road.
Henderson Road141 m
Turn left onto Appletreehall Road/B6359.
Appletreehall Road334 m
Turn left onto A7.
A7386 m
Keep right to take A7/Wilton Hill.
A7788 m
Turn right onto Havelock Street.
Havelock Street171 m
Turn left onto Wellfield Road.
Wellfield Road811 m
Turn right onto Guthrie Drive.
Guthrie Drive795 m
Keep right to stay on Guthrie Drive.
Guthrie Drive18 m
Turn right onto Roxburghe Drive.
Roxburghe Drive86 m
Keep left to stay on Roxburghe Drive.
Roxburghe Drive270 m
Turn left onto Hazelwood Road.
Hazelwood Road300 m
Turn left onto Stirches Road.
Stirches Road592 m
Turn right onto Princes Street.
Princes Street10 m
Keep left to stay on Princes Street.
Princes Street221 m
Keep right to stay on Princes Street.
Princes Street387 m
Turn left onto A7/Albert Road. Continue on A7.
A7702 m
Enter North Bridge Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A698.
North Bridge Roundabout61 m
Exit the roundabout onto A698.
A698182 m
Keep straight to take Mart Street/A698.
Mart Street90 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bourtree Place/B6399.
Bourtree Place184 m
Turn right onto North Bridge Street.
North Bridge Street16 m
Turn right to stay on North Bridge Street.
North Bridge Street222 m
Turn left onto Dovecote Street.
Dovecote Street130 m
Turn right onto Laidlaw Terrace.
Laidlaw Terrace139 m
Turn right onto North Bridge Street/C134.
North Bridge Street111 m
Turn left onto Union Street/C37.
Union Street35 m
Turn right to stay on Union Street/C37.
Union Street117 m
Turn left onto Bourtree Place/B6399.
Bourtree Place22 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Mart Street/A698.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Mart Street/A698. Continue on A698.
A698273 m
Enter North Bridge Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A698.
North Bridge Roundabout81 m
Exit the roundabout onto A698.
A698150 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Hawick · 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.
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 4.0 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.
Roxy's
Start near Roxy's.
Hawick Fire Station
Continue to Hawick Fire Station.
Trinity Primary School
Continue to Trinity Primary School.
Little Green Store
Continue to Little Green Store.
Oliver Park
Continue to Oliver Park.
Hunter and Logan
Continue to Hunter and Logan.
Hawick Baptist Church
Continue to Hawick Baptist Church.
Hawick Congregational Church
Continue to Hawick Congregational Church.
St Cuthbert's Episcopal Church
Continue to St Cuthbert's Episcopal Church.
Stags Head
Continue to Stags Head.
Hawick Kingdom Hall
Continue to Hawick Kingdom Hall.
Teviot Parish Church
Continue to Teviot Parish Church.
Station Bar
Continue to Station Bar.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
Havelock Street Stores
Continue to Havelock Street Stores.
Wilton Swimming Pool
Continue to Wilton Swimming Pool.
Wilton Parish Church
Continue to Wilton Parish Church.
Iceland
Continue to Iceland.
Mart Street Bus Stance
Continue to Mart Street Bus Stance.
Stampers Bar
Finish back near Stampers Bar, completing the loop.
6 roundabouts · 20 turns
6 roundabouts · 19 turns
5 roundabouts · 16 turns
4 roundabouts · 22 turns
This route is 18.5 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Hawick test centre, not an official DVSA route.