Near Inverness test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 24 roundabouts and 10 turns across 47 navigation steps.
This is an independent 13.6 km practice loop near Inverness test centre, taking roughly 18 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 Rose Street Roundabout, Telford Street Roundabout, Longman Roundabout, Raigmore Interchange and Millburn Roundabout and 1 more named junctions. 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 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 shops, named junctions, 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 Inverness 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:
The full 47-step drive on real, named roads (about 15.9 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive north on A82/Harbour Road Roundabout.
A8291 m
Exit the roundabout onto A82/Longman Road. Continue on A82.
A82542 m
Enter Rose Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A82.
Rose Street Roundabout20 m
Exit the roundabout onto A82.
A82245 m
Enter Shore Street Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Chapel Street/B865.
Shore Street Roundabout7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Chapel Street/B865.
Chapel Street241 m
Turn right onto Friar's Lane/B862. Continue on B862.
B862284 m
Keep left to take Bank Street/B862.
Bank Street210 m
Turn right onto Young Street/B861. Continue on B861.
B86194 m
Turn left onto Ness Walk.
Ness Walk319 m
Turn right onto Kenneth Street.
Kenneth Street386 m
Turn left onto Fairfield Road.
Fairfield Road386 m
Keep left to stay on Fairfield Road.
Fairfield Road325 m
Turn right onto Dunain Road.
Dunain Road116 m
Keep left to stay on Dunain Road.
Dunain Road217 m
Turn right onto Telford Street/A862.
Telford Street55 m
Keep right to stay on Telford Street/A862.
Telford Street199 m
Enter Telford Street Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A82.
Telford Street Roundabout14 m
Exit the roundabout onto A82.
A82478 m
Enter Shore Street Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A82.
Shore Street Roundabout59 m
Exit the roundabout onto A82.
A82242 m
Enter Rose Street Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A82.
Rose Street Roundabout20 m
Exit the roundabout onto A82.
A82527 m
Enter Harbour Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A82.
Harbour Road Roundabout45 m
Exit the roundabout onto A82.
A82726 m
Enter Longman Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A9/E 15.
Longman Roundabout121 m
Exit the roundabout onto A9/E 15.
A91.3 km
Take the Raigmore Interchange exit.
A9364 m
Enter Raigmore Interchange and take the 3rd exit onto B865.
Raigmore Interchange317 m
Exit the roundabout onto B865.
B865307 m
Turn left onto King Duncan's Road.
King Duncan's Road449 m
Keep left to take Mackintosh Road.
Mackintosh Road61 m
Turn right onto Ashton Road.
Ashton Road1.0 km
Turn right to stay on Ashton Road.
Ashton Road778 m
Turn right to stay on Ashton Road.
Ashton Road220 m
Keep right to stay on Ashton Road.
Ashton Road557 m
Turn right to stay on Ashton Road.
Ashton Road778 m
Turn left to stay on Ashton Road.
Ashton Road228 m
Turn left onto Mackintosh Road.
Mackintosh Road511 m
Turn left onto B865.
B865110 m
Enter Millburn Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto B865.
Millburn Roundabout120 m
Exit the roundabout onto B865.
B865386 m
Enter Raigmore Interchange and take the 1st exit onto A9.
Raigmore Interchange17 m
Exit the roundabout onto A9.
A91.6 km
Turn left to take the A82 ramp.
A82758 m
Enter Harbour Road Roundabout and take the 3rd exit.
Harbour Road Roundabout78 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Inverness · Residential practice loop 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.
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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Rose Street Roundabout, Telford Street Roundabout, Longman Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
M&S Simply Food
Start near M&S Simply Food.
Rose Street Roundabout
Continue to Rose Street Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Free Presbyterian Church
Continue to Free Presbyterian Church.
Free North Church
Continue to Free North Church.
Johnny Foxes
Continue to Johnny Foxes.
St Andrew's Cathedral
Continue to St Andrew's Cathedral.
Salvation Army Inverness
Continue to Salvation Army Inverness.
Spar
Continue to Spar.
Mr Rice
Continue to Mr Rice.
Telford Street Roundabout
Continue to Telford Street Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Highland Bikes
Continue to Highland Bikes.
Tiso
Continue to Tiso.
Longman Roundabout
Continue to Longman Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Raigmore Interchange
Continue to Raigmore Interchange, taking the junction with good observation.
KFC
Continue to KFC.
Scotmid
Continue to Scotmid.
Millburn Roundabout
Continue to Millburn Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Blackbridge Furnishings
Continue to Blackbridge Furnishings.
Highland Industrial Supplies
Continue to Highland Industrial Supplies.
Harbour Road Roundabout
Finish back near Harbour Road Roundabout, completing the loop.
62 roundabouts · 2 turns
14 roundabouts · 16 turns
32 roundabouts · 2 turns
14 roundabouts · 12 turns
This route is 13.6 km and takes about 18 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Inverness test centre, not an official DVSA route.