Near Lichfield test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts, 17 turns and 4 signalled junctions across 30 navigation steps.
This is an independent 45.5 km practice loop near Lichfield 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 Friary and Swinfen Interchange. 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 independent driving. 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 pubs, named junctions, shops and stations, 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 Lichfield 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 90-step drive on real, named roads (about 45.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west on Lower Sandford Street.
Lower Sandford Street298 m
Turn right onto Walsall Road.
Walsall Road34 m
Turn left onto A51/Western By-Pass.
A51134 m
Enter The Friary and take the 3rd exit onto Friary Road.
The Friary341 m
Exit the roundabout onto Friary Road.
Friary Road185 m
Move left onto Walsall Road.
Walsall Road1.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Walsall Road.
105 m
Exit the roundabout onto Walsall Road.
Walsall Road1.1 km
Move right onto Friary Road.
Friary Road171 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A461/The Friary.
221 m
Exit the roundabout onto A461/The Friary.
A461126 m
Make a sharp right onto A461/Friary Road.
A461106 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A461/The Friary.
359 m
Exit the roundabout onto A461/The Friary.
A461328 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Birmingham Road.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Birmingham Road.
Birmingham Road809 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn left.
29 m
Make a right U-turn.
29 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn left.
280 m
Turn left onto Upper St John Street.
Upper St John Street826 m
Turn right onto Shortbutts Lane.
Shortbutts Lane697 m
Turn left onto Birmingham Road.
Birmingham Road152 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A461/Saint Johns Avenue.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto A461/Saint Johns Avenue.
A461665 m
Move right to stay on A461/Saint Johns Avenue.
A46117 m
Turn right onto A5206/London Road.
A5206435 m
Turn left onto Cricket Lane.
Cricket Lane417 m
Turn left onto Long Bridge Road.
Long Bridge Road185 m
Turn left onto Cromwells Meadow.
Cromwells Meadow256 m
Turn left onto London Road.
London Road145 m
Turn right onto Knowle Lane.
Knowle Lane163 m
Turn left.
54 m
Turn right onto Knowle Lane.
Knowle Lane193 m
Turn left onto A5206/London Road.
A52061.4 km
Turn right.
280 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn left.
29 m
Make a right U-turn.
29 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn left.
280 m
Turn left onto Upper St John Street.
Upper St John Street2.0 km
Enter Swinfen Interchange and take the 2nd exit onto London Road.
Swinfen Interchange228 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/London Road.
A382.2 km
Take the Weeford Interchange exit.
355 m
Enter Weeford Island and take the 2nd exit onto Watling Street.
Weeford Island98 m
Exit the roundabout onto Watling Street.
Watling Street4.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Watling Street.
114 m
Exit the roundabout onto Watling Street.
Watling Street4.7 km
Enter Weeford Island and take the 4th exit.
Weeford Island337 m
Exit the roundabout onto A38/London Road.
A382.5 km
Enter Swinfen Interchange and take the 2nd exit onto A5206/London Road.
Swinfen Interchange221 m
Exit the roundabout onto A5206/London Road.
A52061.1 km
Turn left onto A461/Saint Johns Avenue.
A461673 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Birmingham Road.
73 m
Exit the roundabout onto Birmingham Road.
Birmingham Road696 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Birmingham Road.
64 m
Exit the roundabout onto Birmingham Road.
Birmingham Road809 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn left.
29 m
Make a right U-turn.
29 m
Turn right.
28 m
Turn left onto Birmingham Road.
Birmingham Road812 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A461/The Friary.
48 m
Exit the roundabout onto A461/The Friary. Continue on A461.
A461322 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A461/The Friary.
359 m
Exit the roundabout onto A461/The Friary.
A461328 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Birmingham Road.
9 m
Exit the roundabout onto Birmingham Road.
Birmingham Road2.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A5192/Eastern Avenue.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto A5192/Eastern Avenue.
A51923.9 km
Turn left onto Stafford Road.
Stafford Road713 m
Turn left onto Wheel Lane.
Wheel Lane229 m
Turn left onto High Grange.
High Grange190 m
Turn right onto Little Grange.
Little Grange72 m
Turn left onto Grange Lane.
Grange Lane129 m
Turn left onto Longstaff Croft.
Longstaff Croft86 m
Turn left onto High Grange.
High Grange331 m
Turn right onto Wheel Lane.
Wheel Lane229 m
Turn left onto Beacon Street.
Beacon Street377 m
Turn left onto Anson Avenue.
Anson Avenue400 m
Turn right onto Beecroft Avenue.
Beecroft Avenue285 m
Turn right onto Bulldog Lane.
Bulldog Lane86 m
Turn right to stay on Bulldog Lane.
Bulldog Lane79 m
Turn right onto Gaia Lane.
Gaia Lane506 m
Turn left onto Beacon Street.
Beacon Street289 m
Turn right onto Swan Road.
Swan Road198 m
Turn right onto Lower Sandford Street.
Lower Sandford Street199 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Lichfield · 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.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.
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.
Dual-carriageway join
About 17.3 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, 70 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.
Bowling Green
Start near Bowling Green.
Friary
Continue to Friary, taking the junction with good observation.
Co-operative Funeral Care
Continue to Co-operative Funeral Care.
Bitter Suite
Continue to Bitter Suite.
Lichfield Bus Station
Continue to Lichfield Bus Station.
Gallows Wharf Garden of Reflection
Continue to Gallows Wharf Garden of Reflection.
Owl At Lichfield
Continue to Owl At Lichfield.
Oakies Ink
Continue to Oakies Ink.
Self Storage Units
Continue to Self Storage Units.
Swinfen Interchange
Continue to Swinfen Interchange, taking the junction with good observation.
Arbury Puegeot
Continue to Arbury Puegeot.
Wellington
Continue to Wellington.
Duke of York
Continue to Duke of York.
Sleepmasters
Continue to Sleepmasters.
Vauxhall Lichfield
Continue to Vauxhall Lichfield.
Fountain
Continue to Fountain.
Springfields Day Nursery
Continue to Springfields Day Nursery.
Feathers
Continue to Feathers.
Garden of Remembrance
Continue to Garden of Remembrance.
George & Dragon
Finish back near George & Dragon, completing the loop.
5 roundabouts · 10 turns · 4 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 15 turns · 5 sets of lights
6 roundabouts · 16 turns · 5 sets of lights
5 roundabouts · 14 turns · 4 sets of lights
This route is 45.5 km and takes about 45 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Lichfield test centre, not an official DVSA route.