Near Leicester test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 14 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 27 navigation steps.
This is an independent 29.9 km practice loop near Leicester test centre, taking roughly 40 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 roundabout approach & exit, 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 churches, shops, 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 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 76-step drive on real, named roads (about 29.8 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. Continue on B5366.
B53661.1 km
Turn right onto Trenant Road.
Trenant Road368 m
Turn right onto Stonesby Avenue/B5418.
Stonesby Avenue620 m
Turn right onto Glenborne Road.
Glenborne Road1.5 km
Turn left onto Saffron Road/B5366.
Saffron Road767 m
Move left to stay on Saffron Road/B5366.
Saffron Road32 m
Make a sharp right onto St Thomas Road/B582.
St Thomas Road23 m
Turn right onto Saffron Road/B5366. Continue on B5366.
B53662.0 km
Enter Pork Pie Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Saffron Lane/B5366.
Pork Pie Roundabout47 m
Exit the roundabout onto Saffron Lane/B5366.
Saffron Lane754 m
Turn right onto The Fairway.
The Fairway650 m
Move left onto Brookfield Rise.
Brookfield Rise90 m
Move right onto Windley Road.
Windley Road340 m
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A563/Asquith Way.
Windley Road Roundabout9 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Asquith Way.
A563626 m
Turn right onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road176 m
Turn left to stay on Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road344 m
Turn left onto Croft Drive.
Croft Drive120 m
Turn left onto Bradgate Drive.
Bradgate Drive282 m
Turn right onto Roehampton Drive.
Roehampton Drive871 m
Turn left onto Baldwin Road.
Baldwin Road402 m
Turn right onto Croft Drive.
Croft Drive120 m
Turn right onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road81 m
Turn left onto Lynmouth Drive.
Lynmouth Drive256 m
Turn left onto Brixham Drive.
Brixham Drive340 m
Turn right onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road90 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane/B5418.
Aylestone Lane469 m
Turn right onto Rolleston Road.
Rolleston Road12 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane.
Aylestone Lane56 m
Turn right onto Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road29 m
Turn right to stay on Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road2 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road2 m
Turn left to stay on Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road29 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane.
Aylestone Lane56 m
Turn left onto Rolleston Road.
Rolleston Road409 m
Turn right onto West Avenue.
West Avenue291 m
Turn right onto Warwick Road.
Warwick Road185 m
Turn right onto Rolleston Road.
Rolleston Road229 m
Turn left onto West Avenue.
West Avenue298 m
Turn left onto Holmden Avenue.
Holmden Avenue286 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane/B5418.
Aylestone Lane167 m
Turn left to stay on Aylestone Lane.
Aylestone Lane134 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road29 m
Turn right to stay on Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road2 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road2 m
Turn left to stay on Aylestone Road.
Aylestone Road29 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane.
Aylestone Lane56 m
Turn right onto Rolleston Road.
Rolleston Road12 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane/B5418. Continue on B5418.
B54181.7 km
Enter Pork Pie Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A563/Glenhills Way.
Pork Pie Roundabout43 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.
B5821.8 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 4 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 1.9 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.
Eyres Monsell Baptist Free Church
Start near Eyres Monsell Baptist Free Church.
Salvation Army - Leicester South
Continue to Salvation Army - Leicester South.
Royal Garden
Continue to Royal Garden.
Discount Ceramics
Continue to Discount Ceramics.
Interpharm Chemist
Continue to Interpharm Chemist.
Taste of Bengal
Continue to Taste of Bengal.
Aberdale
Continue to Aberdale.
Nautical William
Continue to Nautical William.
Essential Cuts
Continue to Essential Cuts.
Formula One Autocentres
Continue to Formula One Autocentres.
Chrisstadelphian Hall
Continue to Chrisstadelphian Hall.
S&D Enterprise
Continue to S&D Enterprise.
Play Days Academy
Continue to Play Days Academy.
Happy Days
Continue to Happy Days.
Daisy Chain Childrens Nursery
Continue to Daisy Chain Childrens Nursery.
Wigston United Reformed Church
Continue to Wigston United Reformed 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 29.9 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Leicester test centre, not an official DVSA route.