Near Letchworth test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 13 roundabouts, 12 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 40.7 km practice route near Letchworth test centre, taking roughly 45 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. 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, 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, named junctions, 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 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 87-step drive on real, named roads (about 40.7 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 View525 m
Move left onto North Avenue.
North Avenue339 m
Turn left onto Green Lane.
Green Lane137 m
Turn left onto Norton Road.
Norton Road787 m
Turn left onto Norton Way North.
Norton Way North485 m
Turn left onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way1.0 km
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.
B6561.1 km
Turn right onto High Street/B197.
High Street323 m
Turn left to stay on High Street.
High Street95 m
Make a sharp right onto High Street/B197.
High Street401 m
Turn left onto Hitchin Street/B656.
Hitchin Street292 m
Turn right onto Norton Road.
Norton Road318 m
Turn left to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road1.1 km
Turn right to stay on Norton Road.
Norton Road2.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Norton Road.
80 m
Exit the roundabout onto Norton Road.
Norton Road208 m
Turn left onto Baldock Road.
Baldock Road2.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Stotfold Road.
102 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road1.3 km
Turn left onto Vaughan Road.
Vaughan Road711 m
Turn right onto Common Road.
Common Road302 m
Turn right onto Regent Street.
Regent Street1.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hitchin Road.
46 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hitchin Road.
Hitchin Road654 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hitchin Road.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hitchin Road.
Hitchin Road380 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Stotfold Road.
37 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road1.6 km
Turn right onto Wilbury Hills Road.
Wilbury Hills Road2.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Cambridge Road/A505.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cambridge Road/A505. Continue on A505.
A5051.4 km
Turn left onto Broadway.
Broadway342 m
Enter Sollershott Circus and take the 3rd exit onto Broadway.
Sollershott Circus45 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 1st exit onto Station Place.
2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Station Place.
Station Place61 m
Turn right onto Bridge Road.
Bridge Road239 m
Turn left onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way69 m
Turn right onto Bedford Road.
Bedford Road1.1 km
Turn right onto Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road1.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Stotfold Road.
83 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road1.6 km
Turn left onto Bedford Road.
Bedford Road865 m
Turn left onto Redhoods Way East.
Redhoods Way East284 m
Turn left onto Cowslip Hill.
Cowslip Hill432 m
Turn left onto Wilbury Road.
Wilbury Road304 m
Turn right onto Kite Way.
Kite Way187 m
Turn left to stay on Kite Way.
Kite Way159 m
Turn left to stay on Kite Way.
Kite Way29 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Kite Way.
Kite Way29 m
Turn right to stay on Kite Way.
Kite Way159 m
Turn right to stay on Kite Way.
Kite Way187 m
Turn right onto Wilbury Road.
Wilbury Road603 m
Turn left onto Bedford Road.
Bedford Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way506 m
Turn right onto Cross Street.
Cross Street131 m
Turn right onto Nevells Road.
Nevells Road405 m
Turn right onto Bridge Road.
Bridge Road120 m
Turn right onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way681 m
Turn right onto Norton Way North.
Norton Way North323 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Station Road.
40 m
Exit the roundabout onto Station Road.
Station Road400 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Station Place.
42 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 12 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.
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.
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, 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 Garden City Church
Continue to Letchworth Garden City Church.
Siri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara
Continue to Siri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara.
Green Lane
Continue to Green Lane, taking the junction with good observation.
Saint Mary the Virgin
Continue to Saint Mary the Virgin.
Orange Tree
Continue to Orange Tree.
Stotfold Methodist Church
Continue to Stotfold Methodist Church.
Treetops Day Nursery
Continue to Treetops Day Nursery.
Londis
Continue to Londis.
Pendleton Sports Centre
Continue to Pendleton Sports Centre.
Stotfold Conservative Club
Continue to Stotfold Conservative Club.
Two Chimneys
Continue to Two Chimneys.
Hitchin Garden Centre
Continue to Hitchin Garden Centre.
Emil Dale Academy
Continue to Emil Dale Academy.
Letchworth Garden City
Continue to Letchworth Garden City.
St Thomas' Church
Continue to St Thomas' Church.
Morrisons Daily
Continue to Morrisons Daily.
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 40.7 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Letchworth test centre, not an official DVSA route.