Near Kelso test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts and 13 turns across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 18.7 km practice route near Kelso 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.
Along the way you'll meet Pinnaclehill Rounabout, High Croft and Tweedsyde Park. 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, national-speed roads, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, 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, named junctions, pubs 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 Kelso 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 74-step drive on real, named roads (about 18.7 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west.
9 m
Turn right.
17 m
Turn left.
50 m
Turn right onto Yetholm Road/B6352.
Yetholm Road133 m
Enter Pinnaclehill Rounabout and take the 3rd exit onto Rotary Way/A698.
Pinnaclehill Rounabout68 m
Exit the roundabout onto Rotary Way/A698. Continue on A698.
A6981.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6089.
3 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6089.
A6089306 m
Turn right onto Rose Lane.
Rose Lane151 m
Turn right onto Edenside Road/B6461. Continue on B6461.
B6461377 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
5 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
Pipewell Brae378 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto B6461.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto B6461.
B6461228 m
Turn left onto Oakfield Court.
Oakfield Court64 m
Turn right to stay on Oakfield Court.
Oakfield Court76 m
Turn right to stay on Oakfield Court.
Oakfield Court4 m
Turn left.
1 m
Make a right U-turn.
1 m
Turn right onto Oakfield Court.
Oakfield Court4 m
Turn left to stay on Oakfield Court.
Oakfield Court76 m
Turn left to stay on Oakfield Court.
Oakfield Court64 m
Turn right onto B6461.
B6461230 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
Pipewell Brae378 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto B6461.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto B6461.
B6461373 m
Turn right onto East Bowmont Street.
East Bowmont Street205 m
Turn right onto Bowmont Street.
Bowmont Street683 m
Move right onto Edinburgh Road.
Edinburgh Road400 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6089.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6089.
A6089394 m
Make a sharp right onto Race Course Road.
Race Course Road1.2 km
Turn right to stay on Race Course Road.
Race Course Road207 m
Turn left onto Golf Course Road/A6089.
Golf Course Road546 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Golf Course Road/A6089.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto Golf Course Road/A6089.
Golf Course Road411 m
Turn left onto High Croft.
High Croft263 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 6th exit onto High Croft.
61 m
Exit the roundabout onto High Croft.
High Croft264 m
Turn right onto Golf Course Road/A6089.
Golf Course Road409 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
Pipewell Brae268 m
Turn right onto Inch Road.
Inch Road604 m
Turn left onto Bowmont Street.
Bowmont Street287 m
Turn left onto East Bowmont Street.
East Bowmont Street356 m
Turn left onto Coalmarket/A699.
Coalmarket112 m
Turn right onto Shedden Park Court.
Shedden Park Court42 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Shedden Park Court.
Shedden Park Court42 m
Turn left onto Shedden Park Road/A6089.
Shedden Park Road183 m
Turn left onto Simon Square.
Simon Square294 m
Turn left onto Bridge Street/A699.
A699738 m
Turn right onto Jedburgh Road.
Jedburgh Road885 m
Turn left.
37 m
Turn left onto Rotary Way/A698.
Rotary Way775 m
Enter Pinnaclehill Rounabout and take the 1st exit onto Station Road/B6352.
Pinnaclehill Rounabout10 m
Exit the roundabout onto Station Road/B6352.
B63521.2 km
Turn right onto The Square/A6089.
A6089221 m
Turn right onto Simon Square.
Simon Square294 m
Turn right onto Bridge Street/A699.
Bridge Street192 m
Move left onto Cunyie Nuik.
Cunyie Nuik121 m
Turn right onto Union Street.
Union Street77 m
Turn left onto Bowmont Street.
Bowmont Street223 m
Turn right onto Inch Road.
Inch Road605 m
Turn right onto Pipewell Brae/A6089.
Pipewell Brae109 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto B6461.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto B6461.
B6461373 m
Turn left onto Rose Lane.
Rose Lane151 m
Turn left onto Coalmarket/A699.
Coalmarket305 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A698.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto A698.
A698471 m
Turn left onto Woodside Park.
Woodside Park32 m
Turn right to stay on Woodside Park.
Woodside Park37 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Kelso · Route 5 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
Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.
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.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Car Parts 4 U
Start near Car Parts 4 U.
Pinnaclehill Rounabout
Continue to Pinnaclehill Rounabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Tweeddale
Continue to Tweeddale.
Waggon Inn
Continue to Waggon Inn.
1905 (formerly Red Lion Inn)
Continue to 1905 (formerly Red Lion Inn).
Cobbles Inn
Continue to Cobbles Inn.
Church of the Immaculate Conception
Continue to Church of the Immaculate Conception.
Kelso Baptist Church
Continue to Kelso Baptist Church.
Kelso Golf Club Clubhouse
Continue to Kelso Golf Club Clubhouse.
Co-operative Food
Continue to Co-operative Food.
High Croft
Continue to High Croft, taking the junction with good observation.
Kelso Swimming Pool
Continue to Kelso Swimming Pool.
Quaker Meeting House
Continue to Quaker Meeting House.
Queen's Head Hotel
Continue to Queen's Head Hotel.
Kyle Bros
Continue to Kyle Bros.
Country Corner
Continue to Country Corner.
Black Swan Hotel
Continue to Black Swan Hotel.
White Swan
Continue to White Swan.
Rutherfords Micropub
Continue to Rutherfords Micropub.
Tweedsyde Park
Finish back near Tweedsyde Park, completing the loop.
10 roundabouts · 14 turns
9 roundabouts · 17 turns
9 roundabouts · 11 turns
8 roundabouts · 15 turns
This route is 18.7 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Kelso test centre, not an official DVSA route.