Near Kendal test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts, 18 turns and 1 signalled junction across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 29.5 km practice route near Kendal 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 Burton Road 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 multiple roundabouts, dual-carriageway joins, 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 stations, churches, pubs and schools, 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 Kendal 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 99-step drive on real, named roads (about 29.7 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
24 m
Turn left.
54 m
Turn left.
39 m
Turn left onto Oxenholme Road/B6254.
Oxenholme Road162 m
Turn right onto Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road62 m
Keep left to stay on Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road526 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit towards A684/Town Centre/Sedbergh.
52 m
Exit the roundabout towards A684/Town Centre/Sedbergh.
A65519 m
Turn right onto A6/Kirkland. Continue on A6.
A6714 m
Turn right towards Penrith/Windermere/Brough/Sedbergh.
A6328 m
Turn left onto Blackhall Road.
Blackhall Road347 m
Turn right onto A6/Sandes Avenue. Continue on A6.
A6278 m
Turn right onto A6/Station Road.
A6127 m
Move left towards A6/M6/A685.
A6465 m
Turn right onto Mint Street.
Mint Street213 m
Turn right onto Appleby Road/A685.
Appleby Road371 m
Move left towards A6/Beezon Road Industrial Estate/Town centre.
A6321 m
Turn left towards A684/Sedbergh.
A684346 m
Turn right onto Castle Road.
Castle Road784 m
Keep straight to take Castle Grove.
Castle Grove19 m
Turn left onto Castle Oval.
Castle Oval200 m
Turn left onto Castle Grove.
Castle Grove111 m
Turn left onto Castle Rise.
Castle Rise43 m
Turn right onto Valley Drive.
Valley Drive998 m
Keep left to stay on Valley Drive.
Valley Drive200 m
Keep right to stay on Valley Drive.
Valley Drive146 m
Turn left onto Kendal Parks Road.
Kendal Parks Road64 m
Move right onto Hayclose Road.
Hayclose Road274 m
Turn right onto Blea Tarn Road.
Blea Tarn Road327 m
Turn left onto Kendal Parks Road.
Kendal Parks Road165 m
Turn left onto Oxenholme Road/B6254.
Oxenholme Road594 m
Turn left to stay on Oxenholme Road/B6254.
Oxenholme Road547 m
Turn right onto Helmside Road.
Helmside Road635 m
Turn right.
21 m
Turn left.
74 m
Turn right onto Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road999 m
Keep left to stay on Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road144 m
Keep right to stay on Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road280 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Burton Road/A65.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road492 m
Keep right to stay on Burton Road/A65.
Burton Road349 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit towards Kendal Leisure Centre/Westmorland General Hospital/Oxenholme/Endmoor.
79 m
Exit the roundabout towards Kendal Leisure Centre/Westmorland General Hospital/Oxenholme/Endmoor.
Burton Road598 m
Turn left onto Heron Hill.
Heron Hill52 m
Turn left to stay on Heron Hill.
Heron Hill81 m
Keep left to stay on Heron Hill.
Heron Hill252 m
Turn left to stay on Heron Hill.
Heron Hill54 m
Turn right onto Esthwaite Avenue.
Esthwaite Avenue235 m
Turn right to stay on Esthwaite Avenue.
Esthwaite Avenue405 m
Turn left onto Valley Drive.
Valley Drive656 m
Turn left onto Yealand Drive.
Yealand Drive39 m
Make a left U-turn to stay on Yealand Drive.
Yealand Drive39 m
Turn right onto Valley Drive.
Valley Drive430 m
Keep left to stay on Valley Drive.
Valley Drive225 m
Turn right onto Esthwaite Avenue.
Esthwaite Avenue405 m
Turn right onto Lingmoor Rise.
Lingmoor Rise22 m
Keep left to stay on Lingmoor Rise.
Lingmoor Rise536 m
Turn left onto Valley Drive.
Valley Drive421 m
Turn left onto Castle Rise.
Castle Rise196 m
Keep right to take Parkside Road.
Parkside Road832 m
Turn left towards Endmoor.
Lound Road112 m
Turn left onto Lound Street.
Lound Street123 m
Turn left.
122 m
Turn right.
85 m
Turn right towards Sedbergh.
Parkside Road929 m
Keep left to take Castle Rise.
Castle Rise227 m
Keep left to take Parkside Road.
Parkside Road242 m
Turn left onto A684/Castle Green Lane.
A684120 m
Keep right to stay on A684/Castle Green Lane.
A684620 m
Turn right onto Sedbergh Road.
Sedbergh Road145 m
Turn left onto Sedbergh Drive.
Sedbergh Drive112 m
Turn right to stay on Sedbergh Drive.
Sedbergh Drive397 m
Turn left onto Ullswater Road.
Ullswater Road87 m
Turn left onto Grasmere Crescent.
Grasmere Crescent393 m
Turn left onto Peat Lane.
Peat Lane220 m
Turn right onto Sandylands Road.
Sandylands Road202 m
Turn right onto Jenkin Rise.
Jenkin Rise184 m
Turn right onto Kentdale Road.
Kentdale Road36 m
Turn right onto Kentmere Brow.
Kentmere Brow287 m
Turn right onto Peat Lane.
Peat Lane81 m
Turn left onto Sandylands Road.
Sandylands Road108 m
Turn right onto Sandgate.
Sandgate308 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Sandgate.
Sandgate307 m
Turn left onto Sandylands Road.
Sandylands Road663 m
Turn right onto Appleby Road/A685.
Appleby Road391 m
Turn left onto Crescent Green.
Crescent Green216 m
Turn left onto A6/Shap Road.
A6103 m
Keep right to stay on A6 towards Lancaster/Skipton/Windermere.
A61.4 km
Turn left onto Queen Katherine Street.
Queen Katherine Street151 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Queen Katherine Street.
Queen Katherine Street151 m
Turn left onto A65/Aynam Road.
A65585 m
Turn right onto A6/Kirkland. Continue on A6.
A6714 m
Turn right towards Penrith/Windermere/Brough/Sedbergh.
A6328 m
Turn left onto Blackhall Road.
Blackhall Road347 m
Turn right onto A6/Sandes Avenue. Continue on A6.
A6278 m
Turn right onto A6/Station Road.
A6127 m
Move left towards A6/M6/A685.
A6706 m
Turn left onto Rosemede Avenue.
Rosemede Avenue91 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Kendal · Route 10 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.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Multiple roundabouts
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Burton Road roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 8.2 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 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.
Burton Road roundabout
Start near Burton Road roundabout.
Helme Chase
Continue to Helme Chase.
Bus Station Stand A
Continue to Bus Station Stand A.
Bus Station Stand C
Continue to Bus Station Stand C.
Sandes Avenue
Continue to Sandes Avenue.
Station Road
Continue to Station Road.
St. George's Church
Continue to St. George's Church.
Kendal Parks Road at Oxenholme Road
Continue to Kendal Parks Road at Oxenholme Road.
Oxenholme Lake District
Continue to Oxenholme Lake District.
Helmside Road at Burton Road
Continue to Helmside Road at Burton Road.
Asda
Continue to Asda.
Lound
Continue to Lound.
Esthwaite Avenue (N bound)
Continue to Esthwaite Avenue (N bound).
Heron
Continue to Heron.
Lingmoor Rise at Wray Close
Continue to Lingmoor Rise at Wray Close.
Lingmoor Rise at no. 41
Continue to Lingmoor Rise at no. 41.
Finney's
Continue to Finney's.
Cornerstone - Sandylands Methodist Church
Continue to Cornerstone - Sandylands Methodist Church.
Wildman Street Studios
Continue to Wildman Street Studios.
Aynam Road at Weavers Court
Finish back near Aynam Road at Weavers Court, completing the loop.
2 roundabouts · 15 turns · 1 set of lights
1 roundabout · 19 turns
4 roundabouts · 20 turns
3 roundabouts · 18 turns · 4 sets of lights
This route is 29.5 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Kendal test centre, not an official DVSA route.