Near Leicester test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts, 14 turns and 3 signalled junctions across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 36.4 km practice loop near Leicester 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, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads, independent driving 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 schools, shops, 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 Leicester 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 77-step drive on real, named roads (about 36.3 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
10 m
Turn right.
39 m
Turn left onto Tigers Road.
Tigers Road41 m
Turn left onto Saffron Road/B5366.
Saffron Road287 m
Turn right onto Gloucester Crescent.
Gloucester Crescent674 m
Turn right onto Cornwall Road.
Cornwall Road75 m
Turn right onto Anglesey Road.
Anglesey Road412 m
Turn right onto Kenilworth Road.
Kenilworth Road70 m
Turn left onto Gloucester Crescent.
Gloucester Crescent134 m
Turn right onto Cumberland Road.
Cumberland Road304 m
Turn right onto Dorset Avenue.
Dorset Avenue535 m
Turn right onto Cheshire Drive.
Cheshire Drive275 m
Turn right onto Gloucester Crescent.
Gloucester Crescent938 m
Turn right onto Saffron Road/B5366. Continue on B5366.
B5366811 m
Turn right onto Trenant Road.
Trenant Road368 m
Turn right onto Stonesby Avenue/B5418. Continue on B5418.
B5418893 m
Turn left onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road376 m
Turn left onto Lynmouth Drive.
Lynmouth Drive256 m
Turn left onto Brixham Drive.
Brixham Drive83 m
Turn left onto Tythorn Drive.
Tythorn Drive209 m
Turn left onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road174 m
Turn left onto Heddington Way.
Heddington Way211 m
Turn right onto Heddington Close.
Heddington Close43 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Heddington Close.
Heddington Close43 m
Turn left onto Heddington Way.
Heddington Way211 m
Turn right onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road154 m
Turn left onto Croft Drive.
Croft Drive120 m
Turn left onto Bradgate Drive.
Bradgate Drive282 m
Turn left onto Roehampton Drive.
Roehampton Drive123 m
Turn right onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road241 m
Turn left onto A563/Asquith Way.
A563623 m
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A563/Attlee Way.
Windley Road Roundabout30 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Attlee Way.
A563820 m
Enter Pork Pie Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A563/Glenhills Way.
Pork Pie Roundabout48 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Glenhills Way.
A5631.2 km
Turn left onto Lutterworth Road/A426. Continue on A426.
A4261.6 km
Turn left onto Little Glen Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B5822.0 km
Turn right onto Countesthorpe Road.
Countesthorpe Road469 m
Turn left onto Lansdowne Grove.
Lansdowne Grove145 m
Turn left to stay on Lansdowne Grove.
Lansdowne Grove829 m
Turn right onto Blaby Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B5821.3 km
Turn left onto Long Street.
Long Street703 m
Turn right onto Wakes Road/B5418.
Wakes Road150 m
Enter Wakes Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bull Head Street/A5199.
Wakes Road Roundabout3 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bull Head Street/A5199. Continue on A5199.
A51991.6 km
Turn left onto A563/Asquith Way.
A5631.0 km
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A563/Attlee Way.
Windley Road Roundabout30 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Attlee Way.
A563820 m
Enter Pork Pie Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A563/Glenhills Way.
Pork Pie Roundabout48 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Glenhills Way.
A5631.2 km
Turn left onto Lutterworth Road/A426. Continue on A426.
A4261.6 km
Turn left onto Little Glen Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B5822.0 km
Turn right onto Countesthorpe Road.
Countesthorpe Road469 m
Turn left onto Lansdowne Grove.
Lansdowne Grove145 m
Turn left to stay on Lansdowne Grove.
Lansdowne Grove829 m
Turn right onto Blaby Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B5821.3 km
Turn left onto Long Street.
Long Street703 m
Turn right onto Wakes Road/B5418.
Wakes Road150 m
Enter Wakes Road Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Bull Head Street/A5199.
Wakes Road Roundabout68 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bull Head Street/A5199.
Bull Head Street746 m
Turn right onto Moat Street.
Moat Street44 m
Move left onto Moat Street/B582. Continue on B582.
B582578 m
Turn left onto Launceston Road.
Launceston Road627 m
Turn right onto Seaton Road.
Seaton Road261 m
Turn left to stay on Seaton Road.
Seaton Road386 m
Turn left onto Launceston Road.
Launceston Road131 m
Turn left onto Bushloe End/B582. Continue on B582.
B5821.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Blaby Road/B582.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Blaby Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B582542 m
Turn right onto Saffron Road/B5366.
Saffron Road906 m
Turn left onto Namur Road.
Namur Road105 m
Turn left onto Ladysmith Road.
Ladysmith Road98 m
Turn left onto Hindoostan Avenue.
Hindoostan Avenue190 m
Turn left onto Crete Avenue.
Crete Avenue30 m
Turn right onto Saffron Road/B5366.
Saffron Road154 m
Turn right onto Tigers Road.
Tigers Road100 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Leicester · Route 1 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.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near 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 5.8 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.
Busy Bees Leicester South Wigston
Start near Busy Bees Leicester South Wigston.
Hot Tan
Continue to Hot Tan.
Eyres Monsell Baptist Free Church
Continue to Eyres Monsell Baptist Free Church.
Salvation Army - Leicester South
Continue to Salvation Army - Leicester South.
Christ Gospel Church
Continue to Christ Gospel Church.
Aberdale
Continue to Aberdale.
Chrisstadelphian Hall
Continue to Chrisstadelphian Hall.
United Reform Church
Continue to United Reform Church.
Grange Stores & P.O.
Continue to Grange Stores & P.O..
P. G. Motors
Continue to P. G. Motors.
Happy Days
Continue to Happy Days.
Play Days Academy
Continue to Play Days Academy.
Wigston United Reformed Church
Continue to Wigston United Reformed Church.
Cradle Nursery
Continue to Cradle Nursery.
Tesco Express
Continue to Tesco Express.
St Wistan Church
Continue to St Wistan Church.
Wigston Magna Methodist Church
Continue to Wigston Magna Methodist Church.
All Saints Church
Continue to All Saints Church.
South Wigston Methodist Church
Continue to South Wigston Methodist Church.
St Thomas
Finish back near St Thomas, completing the loop.
12 roundabouts · 12 turns · 2 sets of lights
10 roundabouts · 12 turns
11 roundabouts · 7 turns · 2 sets of lights
14 roundabouts · 11 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 36.4 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Leicester test centre, not an official DVSA route.