Near Letchworth test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 11 roundabouts, 16 turns and 1 signalled junction across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 36.9 km practice route near Letchworth 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.
Along the way you'll meet Green Lane, Sollershott Circus and Letchworth Gate. 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, 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 churches, shops, named junctions 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 Letchworth 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 95-step drive on real, named roads (about 36.9 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
22 m
Turn left onto Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place93 m
Turn right to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place145 m
Turn left to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place335 m
Turn right to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place141 m
Turn right onto Pixmore Avenue.
Pixmore Avenue453 m
Turn left onto Birds Hill.
Birds Hill436 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Norton Way North.
37 m
Exit the roundabout onto Norton Way North.
Norton Way North675 m
Turn right onto Common View.
Common View844 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane85 m
Turn right onto Glebe Road.
Glebe Road451 m
Turn left onto Cromwell Road.
Cromwell Road170 m
Turn left onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way471 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Green Lane.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Green Lane.
Green Lane286 m
Turn left onto Glebe Road.
Glebe Road451 m
Turn left onto Cromwell Road.
Cromwell Road170 m
Turn left onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way471 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Green Lane.
61 m
Exit the roundabout onto Green Lane.
Green Lane167 m
Turn left onto Works Road.
Works Road273 m
Turn right onto Jubilee Road.
Jubilee Road366 m
Turn left onto Baldock Road/B656. Continue on B656.
B656284 m
Turn left onto Letchworth Road.
Letchworth Road16 m
Turn right to stay on Letchworth Road.
Letchworth Road201 m
Turn right to stay on Letchworth Road.
Letchworth Road17 m
Turn left onto Letchworth Road/B656. Continue on B656.
B656345 m
Turn left onto Norton Road.
Norton Road318 m
Turn left to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road1.1 km
Turn left to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road1.8 km
Turn right onto Westholm.
Westholm175 m
Turn left onto Wilbury Road.
Wilbury Road1.7 km
Turn right onto Norton Road.
Norton Road1.1 km
Turn right to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road195 m
Turn right onto West Avenue.
West Avenue172 m
Turn right onto Norton Crescent.
Norton Crescent262 m
Turn left onto West Avenue.
West Avenue63 m
Turn left onto Norton Road.
Norton Road195 m
Turn left to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road1.1 km
Turn left to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road1.6 km
Turn left onto Norton Way North.
Norton Way North850 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Norton Way South.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto Norton Way South.
Norton Way South549 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Norton Way South.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Norton Way South.
Norton Way South405 m
Turn right onto Baldock Road/A505. Continue on A505.
A5051.1 km
Turn right onto Highfield.
Highfield229 m
Turn right onto Sollershott West.
Sollershott West462 m
Enter Sollershott Circus and take the 3rd exit onto Sollershott East.
Sollershott Circus41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sollershott East.
Sollershott East535 m
Turn left onto Baldock Road/A505.
Baldock Road796 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Baldock Road/B656.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Baldock Road/B656.
Baldock Road652 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Baldock Road/B656.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Baldock Road/B656. Continue on B656.
B6561.8 km
Turn right onto High Street/B197.
High Street323 m
Turn left to stay on High Street.
High Street330 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto London Road/B197.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto London Road/B197.
London Road481 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on London Road/B197.
London Road85 m
Turn right to stay on London Road.
London Road13 m
Turn right to stay on London Road.
London Road209 m
Turn right to stay on London Road.
London Road14 m
Turn left onto London Road/B197.
London Road1.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A505/London Road.
79 m
Exit the roundabout onto A505/London Road.
A505849 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Letchworth Gate/A505.
167 m
Exit the roundabout onto Letchworth Gate/A505.
Letchworth Gate777 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Penn Way.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Penn Way.
Penn Way1.2 km
Turn right onto Howard Drive.
Howard Drive558 m
Turn left onto Whitethorn Lane.
Whitethorn Lane472 m
Turn right onto Willian Way.
Willian Way442 m
Turn right onto Baldock Road/A505.
Baldock Road322 m
Turn left onto Rushby Mead.
Rushby Mead320 m
Turn left onto Pixmore Way.
Pixmore Way131 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Pixmore Way.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Pixmore Way.
Pixmore Way421 m
Turn left onto Broadway.
Broadway138 m
Move left to stay on Broadway.
Broadway498 m
Enter Sollershott Circus and take the 6th exit onto Broadway.
Sollershott Circus87 m
Exit the roundabout onto Broadway.
Broadway473 m
Turn left to stay on Broadway.
Broadway245 m
Turn right to stay on Broadway.
Broadway32 m
Turn left to stay on Broadway.
Broadway258 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Station Place.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Station Place.
Station Place408 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Birds Hill.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Birds Hill.
Birds Hill436 m
Turn right onto Pixmore Avenue.
Pixmore Avenue453 m
Turn left onto Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place141 m
Turn right to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place145 m
Turn left to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place62 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Letchworth · 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.
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
Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.
Dual-carriageway join
About 1.1 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, 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.
Salvation Army
Start near Salvation Army.
St. George's
Continue to St. George's.
St George's Church
Continue to St George's Church.
Letchworth Seat
Continue to Letchworth Seat.
Green Lane
Continue to Green Lane, taking the junction with good observation.
Three Horseshoes
Continue to Three Horseshoes.
St Nicholas's Church
Continue to St Nicholas's Church.
Orange Tree
Continue to Orange Tree.
Church Of St Alban
Continue to Church Of St Alban.
Letchworth Free Church
Continue to Letchworth Free Church.
Sollershott Circus
Continue to Sollershott Circus, taking the junction with good observation.
St Paul's
Continue to St Paul's.
Aldi
Continue to Aldi.
Saint Mary the Virgin
Continue to Saint Mary the Virgin.
Baldock Roman Catholic Church of Holy Trinity and St Augustine Canterbury
Continue to Baldock Roman Catholic Church of Holy Trinity and St Augustine Canterbury.
Letchworth Gate
Continue to Letchworth Gate, taking the junction with good observation.
Lechworth Central Methodist Church
Continue to Lechworth Central Methodist Church.
Emil Dale Academy
Continue to Emil Dale Academy.
St Hugh of Lincoln
Continue to St Hugh of Lincoln.
Kattz Kidz
Finish back near Kattz Kidz, completing the loop.
10 roundabouts · 12 turns
10 roundabouts · 14 turns · 1 set of lights
11 roundabouts · 11 turns · 2 sets of lights
11 roundabouts · 14 turns · 3 sets of lights
This route is 36.9 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Letchworth test centre, not an official DVSA route.