Near Lanark test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 19 turns across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 28.2 km practice route near Lanark test centre, taking roughly 25 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, 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 parks, stations, shops 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 Lanark 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 76-step drive on real, named roads (about 28.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive north on Acorn Road.
Acorn Road37 m
Turn right to stay on Acorn Road.
Acorn Road145 m
Turn left to stay on Acorn Road.
Acorn Road12 m
Turn left to stay on Acorn Road.
Acorn Road55 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A73.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto A73.
A732.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ladyacre Road/B7017.
45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ladyacre Road/B7017. Continue on B7017.
B7017458 m
Make a sharp right onto High Street/A743. Continue on A743.
A7431.0 km
Turn right onto Smyllum Road.
Smyllum Road839 m
Turn right onto Woodstock Drive.
Woodstock Drive63 m
Turn right onto Woodstock Road.
Woodstock Road104 m
Turn left onto St Leonard's Road.
St Leonard's Road17 m
Turn right onto Woodstock Avenue.
Woodstock Avenue102 m
Turn left onto Hospitland Drive.
Hospitland Drive189 m
Turn left onto A743.
A743334 m
Turn left onto Kenilworth Road.
Kenilworth Road74 m
Turn right onto Woodstock Road.
Woodstock Road214 m
Turn right onto Bannatyne Street/B7017.
Bannatyne Street113 m
Turn left onto South Vennel.
South Vennel238 m
Turn left onto Wellgatehead/A73. Continue on A73.
A73446 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Hyndford Road/A73.
90 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hyndford Road/A73. Continue on A73.
A73401 m
Make a sharp left onto Braxfield Road.
Braxfield Road743 m
Turn left onto Bankhead Terrace.
Bankhead Terrace374 m
Turn left to stay on Bankhead Terrace.
Bankhead Terrace94 m
Turn right onto Braxfield Road.
Braxfield Road743 m
Make a sharp right onto Wellgatehead/A73. Continue on A73.
A73401 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A73.
62 m
Exit the roundabout onto A73.
A731.4 km
Turn left.
44 m
Turn right.
88 m
Make a right U-turn.
88 m
Turn left.
44 m
Turn left onto A73.
A73584 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A73.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto A73.
A73825 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hyndford Road/A73.
52 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hyndford Road/A73.
Hyndford Road163 m
Turn left onto A70.
A70510 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A70.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto A70.
A702.9 km
Turn right to stay on A70.
A701.8 km
Turn right onto West View.
West View87 m
Move left onto Carstairs Road.
Carstairs Road200 m
Turn right onto Railway View.
Railway View43 m
Turn right onto Forrest Lane.
Forrest Lane61 m
Turn left onto Carstairs Road.
Carstairs Road115 m
Move right onto West View.
West View87 m
Turn left onto Lanark Road/A70.
A702.0 km
Move right onto Silvermuir Road.
Silvermuir Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Silvermuir Avenue.
Silvermuir Avenue138 m
Turn right onto Jerviswood Drive.
Jerviswood Drive67 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Jerviswood Drive.
Jerviswood Drive67 m
Turn left onto Silvermuir Avenue.
Silvermuir Avenue138 m
Turn left onto Hagholm Road.
Hagholm Road463 m
Turn left onto A706.
A7062.6 km
Turn left.
24 m
Move right onto Cleghorn Drive.
Cleghorn Drive167 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Cleghorn Drive.
Cleghorn Drive167 m
Move left.
24 m
Turn left onto Cleghorn Road/A706.
Cleghorn Road146 m
Turn left onto Braedale Road.
Braedale Road259 m
Turn left onto Rhyber Avenue.
Rhyber Avenue381 m
Turn left onto Forrest Road.
Forrest Road104 m
Turn left onto St Nicholas Road.
St Nicholas Road70 m
Turn left onto St Kentigerns Road.
St Kentigerns Road203 m
Turn left onto St Nicholas Road.
St Nicholas Road65 m
Turn right onto Rhyber Avenue.
Rhyber Avenue277 m
Turn left onto Quarryknowe.
Quarryknowe105 m
Turn right onto Kildare Road.
Kildare Road128 m
Turn left onto Kildare Place.
Kildare Place120 m
Turn right onto Kildare Drive.
Kildare Drive184 m
Turn right onto Stanmore Avenue.
Stanmore Avenue64 m
Turn left onto A743.
A743505 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Lanark · 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.
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.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 30, 40, 50, 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.
Lanark Moor Sensory Garden
Start near Lanark Moor Sensory Garden.
Sight Garden
Continue to Sight Garden.
Smell Garden
Continue to Smell Garden.
Sound Garden
Continue to Sound Garden.
Touch Garden
Continue to Touch Garden.
Lanark Interchange
Continue to Lanark Interchange.
Leather & Lace
Continue to Leather & Lace.
Mosko hairdressing
Continue to Mosko hairdressing.
Oxfam
Continue to Oxfam.
Valerio`s Fish and Chips
Continue to Valerio`s Fish and Chips.
Gospel Hall
Continue to Gospel Hall.
Robert Owen Memorial Primary School
Continue to Robert Owen Memorial Primary School.
Lanark
Continue to Lanark.
HiQ
Continue to HiQ.
Taste Garden
Continue to Taste Garden.
Westbank Argricultural Engineers
Continue to Westbank Argricultural Engineers.
Carstairs Village Green
Continue to Carstairs Village Green.
Village Inn
Continue to Village Inn.
Ian Brown Funeral Directors
Continue to Ian Brown Funeral Directors.
King George's Field
Finish back near King George's Field, completing the loop.
1 roundabout · 25 turns
1 roundabout · 23 turns
1 roundabout · 21 turns · 1 set of lights
1 roundabout · 19 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 28.2 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Lanark test centre, not an official DVSA route.