Near Letchworth test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 16 turns and 2 signalled junctions across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 40.4 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.
On this route you’ll practise multiple roundabouts, national-speed roads, 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 schools, pubs, shops and churches, 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 104-step drive on real, named roads (about 40.3 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 Place139 m
Keep left to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place6 m
Turn left to stay on Jackmans Place.
Jackmans Place336 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 2nd exit onto Station Road.
20 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 Hill134 m
Turn right onto Ridge Road.
Ridge Road322 m
Turn left to stay on Ridge Road.
Ridge Road155 m
Turn right to stay on Ridge Road.
Ridge Road256 m
Turn left onto Birds Hill.
Birds Hill135 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Norton Way North.
37 m
Exit the roundabout onto Norton Way North.
Norton Way North322 m
Turn left onto Icknield Way.
Icknield Way681 m
Turn right onto Cowslip Hill.
Cowslip Hill689 m
Turn left onto Wilbury Road.
Wilbury Road907 m
Turn right onto Bedford Road.
Bedford Road37 m
Turn left onto Wilbury Hills Road.
Wilbury Hills Road32 m
Turn right onto Arlesey New Road.
Arlesey New Road1.2 km
Turn right onto Hitchin Road.
Hitchin Road3.9 km
Move right onto House Lane.
House Lane612 m
Turn right onto Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road597 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Stotfold Road.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road1.5 km
Turn right onto Hitchin Road.
Hitchin Road1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Hitchin Road.
46 m
Exit the roundabout onto Hitchin Road.
Hitchin Road92 m
Keep right to stay on Hitchin Road.
Hitchin Road561 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 Road32 m
Turn right onto Arlesey New Road.
Arlesey New Road1.2 km
Turn left onto Arlesey Road.
Arlesey Road99 m
Keep straight to stay on Arlesey Road.
Arlesey Road476 m
Keep right to stay on Arlesey Road.
Arlesey Road1.6 km
Move left to stay on Arlesey Road.
Arlesey Road1.1 km
Keep right to take Old Hale Way.
Old Hale Way15 m
Turn left onto Strathmore Avenue.
Strathmore Avenue563 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Periwinkle Lane.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Periwinkle Lane.
Periwinkle Lane182 m
Turn left onto Grove Road.
Grove Road523 m
Turn right onto Woolgrove Road.
Woolgrove Road790 m
Move left to stay on Woolgrove Road.
Woolgrove Road28 m
Turn right onto Cambridge Road/A505.
Cambridge Road21 m
Turn left onto Willian Road.
Willian Road847 m
Keep straight to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road716 m
Keep right to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road503 m
Keep right to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road281 m
Keep left to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road209 m
Move left onto Baldock Lane.
Baldock Lane287 m
Turn left.
106 m
Make a right U-turn.
106 m
Turn right onto Baldock Lane.
Baldock Lane287 m
Move right onto Willian Road.
Willian Road437 m
Keep left to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road104 m
Keep right to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road175 m
Keep right to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road360 m
Keep left to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road741 m
Keep left to stay on Willian Road.
Willian Road534 m
Turn left onto Purwell Lane.
Purwell Lane107 m
Keep right to stay on Purwell Lane.
Purwell Lane819 m
Turn left onto Kingswood Avenue.
Kingswood Avenue216 m
Turn left onto Wilshere Crescent.
Wilshere Crescent300 m
Turn left onto Benchley Hill.
Benchley Hill207 m
Turn left onto Purwell Lane.
Purwell Lane29 m
Turn right onto Chaucer Way.
Chaucer Way373 m
Turn left to stay on Chaucer Way.
Chaucer Way76 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Chaucer Way.
Chaucer Way76 m
Turn right to stay on Chaucer Way.
Chaucer Way374 m
Turn right onto Purwell Lane.
Purwell Lane567 m
Turn left onto Kingswood Avenue.
Kingswood Avenue216 m
Turn left onto Wilshere Crescent.
Wilshere Crescent300 m
Turn left onto Benchley Hill.
Benchley Hill207 m
Turn right onto Purwell Lane.
Purwell Lane331 m
Turn right onto Willian Road.
Willian Road381 m
Turn right onto Mountjoy.
Mountjoy204 m
Turn right onto Wilshere Crescent.
Wilshere Crescent145 m
Turn right onto Bradleys Corner.
Bradleys Corner296 m
Turn left onto Mountjoy.
Mountjoy90 m
Turn right onto Willian Road.
Willian Road112 m
Turn left onto Queenswood Drive.
Queenswood Drive335 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Cambridge Road/A505.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cambridge Road/A505. Continue on A505.
A5053.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Baldock Road/B656.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Baldock Road/B656.
Baldock Road60 m
Turn left onto Pixmore Avenue.
Pixmore Avenue7 m
Keep right to stay on Pixmore Avenue.
Pixmore Avenue378 m
Turn right onto Wissen Drive.
Wissen Drive228 m
Turn left to stay on Wissen Drive.
Wissen Drive57 m
Turn left to stay on Wissen Drive.
Wissen Drive134 m
Turn left onto Pixmore Avenue.
Pixmore Avenue136 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 13 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.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
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 (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.
Kattz Kidz
Start near Kattz Kidz.
Platform
Continue to Platform.
Go Go Bab
Continue to Go Go Bab.
Hair Flair
Continue to Hair Flair.
Salvation Army
Continue to Salvation Army.
Arlesey Methodist Church
Continue to Arlesey Methodist Church.
Arlesey Nursery School
Continue to Arlesey Nursery School.
Nisa Local
Continue to Nisa Local.
Pendleton Sports Centre
Continue to Pendleton Sports Centre.
Stotfold Methodist Church
Continue to Stotfold Methodist Church.
Two Chimneys
Continue to Two Chimneys.
Cricketers
Continue to Cricketers.
Saint Katharine
Continue to Saint Katharine.
Triangle Community Garden
Continue to Triangle Community Garden.
New Testament Church of God
Continue to New Testament Church of God.
St Faith's Church
Continue to St Faith's Church.
Fox
Continue to Fox.
Three Horseshoes
Continue to Three Horseshoes.
Hitchin Garden Centre
Continue to Hitchin Garden Centre.
St Paul's
Finish back near St Paul's, 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 40.4 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.