Near Horsforth test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 3 roundabouts, 15 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 25 navigation steps.
This is an independent 41.7 km practice loop near Horsforth 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 independent driving. 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, stations, 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 Horsforth 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 85-step drive on real, named roads (about 41.7 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest.
46 m
Turn left onto Low Lane.
Low Lane390 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto A6120/Ring Road.
130 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road. Continue on A6120.
A61201.3 km
Turn right onto Spen Lane.
Spen Lane632 m
Turn right onto Butcher Hill.
Butcher Hill77 m
Turn right onto Moor Grange View.
Moor Grange View265 m
Turn right onto West Park Drive.
West Park Drive107 m
Turn left onto Spen Lane.
Spen Lane365 m
Turn left onto A6120/Ring Road West Park.
A612032 m
Turn right onto Spen Lane.
Spen Lane377 m
Turn right onto Spennithorne Drive.
Spennithorne Drive99 m
Turn left onto Spennithorne Avenue.
Spennithorne Avenue303 m
Turn right onto Spen Lane.
Spen Lane156 m
Turn left onto Otley Old Road.
Otley Old Road615 m
Turn left onto Laith Road.
Laith Road226 m
Turn left onto Iveson Drive.
Iveson Drive168 m
Turn right onto Otley Old Road.
Otley Old Road1.1 km
Turn right onto A660/Otley Road.
A660287 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A6120/Ring Road West Park.
90 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road West Park. Continue on A6120.
A61201.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A6120/Ring Road.
97 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road. Continue on A6120.
A61201.7 km
Enter Lawnswood Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6120/Ring Road Weetwood.
Lawnswood Roundabout47 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road Weetwood. Continue on A6120.
A61202.5 km
Keep left to stay on A6120.
A612066 m
Keep left to take Black Moor Road.
Black Moor Road31 m
Turn left to stay on Black Moor Road.
Black Moor Road424 m
Turn left onto Alderton Bank.
Alderton Bank333 m
Turn left onto Alderton Place.
Alderton Place91 m
Turn right onto Alderton Crescent.
Alderton Crescent115 m
Turn left onto Alderton Rise.
Alderton Rise225 m
Turn left onto Alderton Bank.
Alderton Bank75 m
Turn right onto Alderton Mount.
Alderton Mount65 m
Turn right onto Scotland Wood Road.
Scotland Wood Road178 m
Turn right onto Black Moor Road.
Black Moor Road203 m
Turn left onto Tynwald Hill.
Tynwald Hill70 m
Turn left onto Tynwald Drive.
Tynwald Drive629 m
Turn left onto Deanswood Green.
Deanswood Green130 m
Turn right onto Deanswood Drive.
Deanswood Drive300 m
Turn left onto Deanswood Hill.
Deanswood Hill127 m
Turn right onto Cranmer Close.
Cranmer Close129 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Cranmer Close.
Cranmer Close129 m
Turn right onto Deanswood Hill.
Deanswood Hill68 m
Turn right onto Cranmer Bank.
Cranmer Bank393 m
Move left onto Cranmer Gardens.
Cranmer Gardens89 m
Turn right onto Cranmer Road.
Cranmer Road103 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto King Lane.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto King Lane.
King Lane2.8 km
Turn right onto Eccup Lane.
Eccup Lane1.4 km
Make a sharp right onto Village Road.
Village Road268 m
Keep right at the fork.
134 m
Turn right onto Eccup Moor Road.
Eccup Moor Road1.3 km
Move left onto Eccup Lane.
Eccup Lane2.0 km
Turn right onto Church Lane.
Church Lane90 m
Turn left onto A660/Otley Road.
A6601.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A6120/Ring Road West Park.
90 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road West Park. Continue on A6120.
A61201.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Low Lane.
62 m
Exit the roundabout onto Low Lane.
Low Lane83 m
Turn left onto Broadgate Lane.
Broadgate Lane1.3 km
Turn left onto Church Avenue.
Church Avenue265 m
Turn right onto Church Lane.
Church Lane233 m
Turn right onto Hall Park Avenue.
Hall Park Avenue44 m
Turn left onto Hall Park Rise.
Hall Park Rise164 m
Turn left onto Hall Park Avenue.
Hall Park Avenue194 m
Turn right onto Church Road.
Church Road477 m
Turn left towards Ring Road/Harrogate/Wetherby/York.
A61201.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6120/Ring Road.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road. Continue on A6120.
A61201.7 km
Enter Lawnswood Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A660/Otley Road.
Lawnswood Roundabout7 m
Exit the roundabout onto A660/Otley Road.
A6601.3 km
Turn right onto St Helen's Lane.
St Helen's Lane832 m
Turn right onto Long Causeway.
Long Causeway717 m
Turn right onto A6120/Ring Road Weetwood.
A6120888 m
Enter Lawnswood Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A660/Otley Road.
Lawnswood Roundabout95 m
Exit the roundabout onto A660/Otley Road.
A660471 m
Make a right U-turn at Lawnswood Gardens to stay on A660/Otley Road.
A660472 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A6120/Ring Road West Park.
90 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6120/Ring Road West Park. Continue on A6120.
A61201.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Low Lane.
62 m
Exit the roundabout onto Low Lane.
Low Lane332 m
Turn left onto Springfield Mount.
Springfield Mount24 m
Turn right onto Back Low Lane.
Back Low Lane26 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Horsforth · Route 17 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.
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 20.2 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, 70 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.
Woodside Micro Pub
Start near Woodside Micro Pub.
Iveson Approach Otley Old Road
Continue to Iveson Approach Otley Old Road.
Otley Old Road Iveson Drive
Continue to Otley Old Road Iveson Drive.
Otley Old Road Spennithorpe Drive
Continue to Otley Old Road Spennithorpe Drive.
Ring Road West Park Otley Road
Continue to Ring Road West Park Otley Road.
Ring Road Weetwood Otley Road
Continue to Ring Road Weetwood Otley Road.
Moortown Methodist Church
Continue to Moortown Methodist Church.
Wine Shop
Continue to Wine Shop.
St Stephen
Continue to St Stephen.
Leeds St Helens Lane
Continue to Leeds St Helens Lane.
Otley Road The Crescent
Continue to Otley Road The Crescent.
Otley Road Lawnswood Sports Club
Continue to Otley Road Lawnswood Sports Club.
Broadgate Off Licence
Continue to Broadgate Off Licence.
Church Avenue North Broadgate Lane
Continue to Church Avenue North Broadgate Lane.
Church Avenue St Margarets Avenue
Continue to Church Avenue St Margarets Avenue.
Church Road Hall Lane
Continue to Church Road Hall Lane.
Green Town Street
Continue to Green Town Street.
Otley Old Road The Grange Road
Continue to Otley Old Road The Grange Road.
Otley Road Otley Old Road
Continue to Otley Road Otley Old Road.
Otley Road Lawnswood Crematorium
Finish back near Otley Road Lawnswood Crematorium, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 19 turns · 1 set of lights
4 roundabouts · 19 turns · 1 set of lights
2 roundabouts · 21 turns · 1 set of lights
2 roundabouts · 18 turns
This route is 41.7 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Horsforth test centre, not an official DVSA route.