Near Leicester test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 9 roundabouts, 12 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 25 navigation steps.
This is an independent 31.2 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.
Along the way you'll meet Windley 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, national-speed roads, 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, schools, pubs and shops, 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 31.2 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 Road405 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 Road655 m
Turn right onto St Thomas Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B582351 m
Turn right onto Oakleigh Avenue.
Oakleigh Avenue160 m
Move left onto Westleigh Road.
Westleigh Road69 m
Turn left onto Alderleigh Road.
Alderleigh Road133 m
Turn left onto Little Glen Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B582972 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Blaby Road/B582.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Blaby Road/B582. Continue on B582.
B5821.2 km
Turn right onto Launceston Road.
Launceston Road468 m
Turn left onto Redruth Avenue.
Redruth Avenue400 m
Turn left onto Launceston Road.
Launceston Road1.3 km
Turn left onto Moat Street/B582. Continue on B582.
B582409 m
Turn right onto Long Street.
Long Street480 m
Turn left onto Aylestone Lane/B5418.
Aylestone Lane787 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.
Aylestone Lane469 m
Turn right onto Shackerdale Road.
Shackerdale Road564 m
Turn right onto Roehampton Drive.
Roehampton Drive597 m
Turn right onto Highgate Drive.
Highgate Drive39 m
Turn left onto Welford Road/A5199.
Welford Road390 m
Turn left onto A563/Asquith Way.
A5631.0 km
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Windley Road.
Windley Road Roundabout6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Windley Road.
Windley Road150 m
Turn right onto Barfoot Road.
Barfoot Road76 m
Turn left onto Highgate.
Highgate240 m
Turn right onto Stonesby Avenue/B5418.
Stonesby Avenue859 m
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.
A4262.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Leicester Road.
2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Leicester Road.
Leicester Road195 m
Move left onto Sycamore Street.
Sycamore Street810 m
Turn left onto Hospital Lane.
Hospital Lane1.9 km
Turn left onto Countesthorpe Road.
Countesthorpe Road1.2 km
Move left onto Lansdowne Grove.
Lansdowne Grove146 m
Turn right onto Countesthorpe Road.
Countesthorpe Road469 m
Turn left onto St Thomas Road/B582.
St Thomas Road62 m
Turn right onto Saffron Road/B5366. Continue on B5366.
B53662.0 km
Enter Pork Pie Roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A563/Attlee Way.
Pork Pie Roundabout83 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Attlee Way.
A563818 m
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A563/Asquith Way.
Windley Road Roundabout29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A563/Asquith Way.
A563626 m
Turn left onto Aberdale Road.
Aberdale Road520 m
Turn right onto Welford Road/A5199.
Welford Road363 m
Turn right onto A563/Asquith Way.
A5631.0 km
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Windley Road.
Windley Road Roundabout56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Windley Road.
Windley Road256 m
Turn left onto Meadow Gardens.
Meadow Gardens105 m
Turn left to stay on Meadow Gardens.
Meadow Gardens210 m
Turn right onto Windley Road.
Windley Road75 m
Enter Windley Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Windley Road.
Windley Road Roundabout35 m
Exit the roundabout onto Windley Road.
Windley Road408 m
Turn right onto Stonesby Avenue/B5418.
Stonesby Avenue554 m
Turn left onto Trenant Road.
Trenant Road368 m
Turn left onto Saffron Lane/B5366. Continue on B5366.
B5366811 m
Turn left 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 Crescent263 m
Turn left onto Saffron Road/B5366.
Saffron Road287 m
Turn right onto Tigers Road.
Tigers Road100 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Leicester · 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.
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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Windley Road Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 4.9 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 (30, 40, 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.
Salvation Army - Leicester South
Start near Salvation Army - Leicester South.
South Wigston Congregational Church
Continue to South Wigston Congregational Church.
South Wigston Methodist Church
Continue to South Wigston Methodist Church.
Daisy Chain Childrens Nursery
Continue to Daisy Chain Childrens Nursery.
Little Hill Church
Continue to Little Hill Church.
Wigston Magna Methodist Church
Continue to Wigston Magna Methodist Church.
Wigston United Reformed Church
Continue to Wigston United Reformed Church.
Nautical William
Continue to Nautical William.
Nicky's Hair Salon
Continue to Nicky's Hair Salon.
Arrow convenience store
Continue to Arrow convenience store.
Christ Gospel Church
Continue to Christ Gospel Church.
Grange Stores & P.O.
Continue to Grange Stores & P.O..
Black Horse
Continue to Black Horse.
St Thomas
Continue to St Thomas.
Spar
Continue to Spar.
Premier Stores
Continue to Premier Stores.
West Knighton Supermarket
Continue to West Knighton Supermarket.
Windley Road Roundabout
Continue to Windley Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Eyres Monsell Baptist Free Church
Continue to Eyres Monsell Baptist Free Church.
Royal Garden
Finish back near Royal Garden, 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 31.2 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.