Near Letchworth test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 10 roundabouts, 13 turns and 1 signalled junction across 27 navigation steps.
This is an independent 25.6 km practice loop 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 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, 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 shops, schools, pubs 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 88-step drive on real, named roads (about 25.6 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 Way384 m
Turn left onto The Quadrant.
The Quadrant154 m
Turn left onto Nevells Road.
Nevells Road350 m
Turn left onto Norton Way North.
Norton Way North923 m
Keep left to take Eastern Way.
Eastern Way145 m
Turn left onto Danescroft.
Danescroft217 m
Turn left onto Middlefields.
Middlefields199 m
Turn right onto Southfields.
Southfields199 m
Keep right to stay on Southfields.
Southfields111 m
Turn left onto Sherwood.
Sherwood159 m
Turn left onto Midhurst.
Midhurst170 m
Turn left onto Orchard Way.
Orchard Way108 m
Turn left onto Grange Road.
Grange Road238 m
Turn left onto Southfields.
Southfields103 m
Turn left onto Woodhurst.
Woodhurst283 m
Turn left onto Orchard Way.
Orchard Way108 m
Turn right onto Grange Road.
Grange Road136 m
Turn right onto Wilbury Road.
Wilbury Road1.4 km
Turn right onto Bedford Road.
Bedford Road37 m
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 right onto Wilbury Hills Road.
Wilbury Hills Road1.9 km
Keep right to take Stotfold Road.
Stotfold Road1.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Queenswood Drive.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Queenswood Drive.
Queenswood Drive335 m
Turn left onto Willian Road.
Willian Road149 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 left onto Baldock Lane.
Baldock Lane911 m
Move left onto Letchworth Gate/A505.
Letchworth Gate299 m
Keep right to stay on Letchworth Gate/A505.
Letchworth Gate125 m
Keep right to stay on Letchworth Gate/A505.
Letchworth Gate117 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto Howard Drive.
203 m
Exit the roundabout onto Howard Drive.
Howard Drive231 m
Keep right to stay on Howard Drive.
Howard Drive325 m
Turn right onto Brandles Road.
Brandles Road436 m
Turn right onto Willian Way.
Willian Way126 m
Keep right to stay on Willian Way.
Willian Way172 m
Turn right onto Whitethorn Lane.
Whitethorn Lane266 m
Turn left onto Lawrence Avenue.
Lawrence Avenue462 m
Turn left onto Baldock Road/A505.
Baldock Road217 m
Turn left onto Willian Way.
Willian Way169 m
Keep right to stay on Willian Way.
Willian Way151 m
Keep left to stay on Willian Way.
Willian Way121 m
Turn left onto Whitethorn Lane.
Whitethorn Lane266 m
Turn left onto Lawrence Avenue.
Lawrence Avenue462 m
Turn left onto Baldock Road/A505.
Baldock Road216 m
Turn right onto Norton Way South.
Norton Way South49 m
Keep right to stay on Norton Way South.
Norton Way South357 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Norton Way South.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Norton Way South.
Norton Way South208 m
Turn right onto Hillshott.
Hillshott251 m
Turn right onto Ridge Avenue.
Ridge Avenue102 m
Turn left onto Broughton Hill.
Broughton Hill285 m
Turn left onto Pixmore Avenue.
Pixmore Avenue229 m
Turn left onto Ridge Road.
Ridge Road127 m
Turn right to stay on Ridge Road.
Ridge Road155 m
Turn right to stay on Ridge Road.
Ridge Road26 m
Keep left to stay on Ridge Road.
Ridge Road14 m
Turn left onto Ridge Avenue.
Ridge Avenue265 m
Turn left onto Broughton Hill.
Broughton Hill120 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Letchworth · Route 6 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.
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.
HSL
Start near HSL.
Secure Store
Continue to Secure Store.
Kattz Kidz
Continue to Kattz Kidz.
Platform
Continue to Platform.
Hair Flair
Continue to Hair Flair.
Prime Dry Cleaners
Continue to Prime Dry Cleaners.
Norton Way Honda
Continue to Norton Way Honda.
Norton Way Mazda
Continue to Norton Way Mazda.
Salvation Army
Continue to Salvation Army.
Steven Eagell Toyota (Letchworth)
Continue to Steven Eagell Toyota (Letchworth).
Grange Baptist Church
Continue to Grange Baptist Church.
St. George's
Continue to St. George's.
Nisa Local
Continue to Nisa Local.
Two Chimneys
Continue to Two Chimneys.
Fox
Continue to Fox.
Three Horseshoes
Continue to Three Horseshoes.
Letchworth Gate
Continue to Letchworth Gate, taking the junction with good observation.
Church Of St Alban
Continue to Church Of St Alban.
Lechworth Central Methodist Church
Continue to Lechworth Central Methodist Church.
Letchworth Dhamma Nikethanaya
Finish back near Letchworth Dhamma Nikethanaya, 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 25.6 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.