Near Loughborough test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 5 roundabouts, 18 turns and 10 signalled junctions across 28 navigation steps.
This is an independent 38.4 km practice route near Loughborough 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 Warwick Way Roundabout and Alan Moss Road Roundabout. 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, 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, pubs, schools and shops, 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 Loughborough 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 116-step drive on real, named roads (about 40.0 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest.
80 m
Turn left onto Gordon Road.
Gordon Road61 m
Turn right onto Station Boulevard/A6004.
Station Boulevard440 m
Turn right onto Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road654 m
Turn left onto Sparrow Hill.
Sparrow Hill282 m
Move left onto A6/Jubilee Way.
A695 m
Turn left onto Moor Lane.
Moor Lane313 m
Turn left onto Wharncliffe Road/A60. Continue on A60.
A60692 m
Turn left onto Nottingham Road.
Nottingham Road340 m
Turn left onto Sparrow Hill.
Sparrow Hill250 m
Make a right U-turn onto Pinfold Gate.
Pinfold Gate206 m
Keep right to take Sparrow Hill.
Sparrow Hill34 m
Turn left onto Baxter Gate.
Baxter Gate65 m
Keep straight to stay on Baxter Gate.
Baxter Gate35 m
Turn right onto A6/Lemyngton Street. Continue on A6.
A6385 m
Turn left onto A6/Bridge Street.
A6176 m
Turn left onto The Rushes/A512. Continue on A512.
A512245 m
Turn right onto Derby Square/A512. Continue on A512.
A512197 m
Turn right onto Greenclose Lane/A512.
Greenclose Lane151 m
Turn left onto The Rushes/A512.
The Rushes141 m
Continue on A6.
A6766 m
Turn right onto Kings Avenue.
Kings Avenue15 m
Turn right to stay on Kings Avenue.
Kings Avenue16 m
Turn left onto A6/Derby Road.
A6236 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6370 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A67 m
Turn right onto Regent Street.
Regent Street348 m
Turn right onto Ashby Road/A512.
Ashby Road212 m
Keep left to stay on Ashby Road/A512.
Ashby Road110 m
Turn right onto Cumberland Road.
Cumberland Road74 m
Turn right onto Fearon Street.
Fearon Street143 m
Turn right onto Storer Road.
Storer Road218 m
Turn left onto Ashby Road/A512.
Ashby Road35 m
Turn right onto Radmoor Road.
Radmoor Road480 m
Turn right to stay on Radmoor Road.
Radmoor Road429 m
Turn right onto Burleigh Road.
Burleigh Road174 m
Turn left onto Granville Street.
Granville Street185 m
Turn left onto Ashby Road/A512.
Ashby Road374 m
Keep left to stay on Ashby Road/A512.
Ashby Road110 m
Turn right onto Cumberland Road.
Cumberland Road74 m
Turn right onto Fearon Street.
Fearon Street143 m
Turn right onto Storer Road.
Storer Road218 m
Turn left onto Ashby Road/A512.
Ashby Road217 m
Turn left onto Broad Street.
Broad Street246 m
Turn left onto A6/The Rushes. Continue on A6.
A6896 m
Turn left onto Belton Road/A6004.
Belton Road220 m
Keep left to stay on Belton Road/A6004.
Belton Road401 m
Turn left onto Jubilee Drive.
Jubilee Drive873 m
Turn right onto Belton Road West Extension.
Belton Road West Extension809 m
Turn right onto Bishop Meadow Road.
Bishop Meadow Road291 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Bishop Meadow Road.
65 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bishop Meadow Road.
Bishop Meadow Road498 m
Enter Bishop Meadow Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A6/Derby Road.
Bishop Meadow Roundabout6 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Derby Road.
A6893 m
Turn right.
36 m
Make a sharp right onto Alan Moss Road/A6004.
Alan Moss Road29 m
Turn left onto A6/Derby Road.
A6774 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A689 m
Enter Bishop Meadow Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6/Derby Road.
Bishop Meadow Roundabout57 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Derby Road.
A6560 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6221 m
Keep left to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6171 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6528 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6/Derby Road.
49 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Derby Road.
A6269 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6130 m
Keep right to stay on A6.
A6574 m
Turn right onto Wide Street.
Wide Street229 m
Turn left onto Dovecote Street.
Dovecote Street225 m
Turn left onto Narrow Lane.
Narrow Lane290 m
Turn left onto A6/Loughborough Road.
A61.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6/Derby Road.
47 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Derby Road.
A6209 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6319 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6118 m
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A6829 m
Enter Bishop Meadow Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A6/Derby Road.
Bishop Meadow Roundabout49 m
Exit the roundabout onto A6/Derby Road.
A655 m
Keep right to stay on A6.
A61.3 km
Move left onto A6/Bridge Street. Continue on Bridge Street.
Bridge Street900 m
Turn left onto Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road560 m
Move right to stay on Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road59 m
Keep left to stay on A60.
A601.2 km
Keep left to stay on Loughborough Road/A60.
Loughborough Road103 m
Keep left to stay on Loughborough Road/A60.
Loughborough Road2.1 km
Turn right onto Prestwold Lane.
Prestwold Lane106 m
Keep left to stay on Prestwold Lane.
Prestwold Lane129 m
Turn left onto Old Parsonage Lane.
Old Parsonage Lane27 m
Make a sharp left to stay on Old Parsonage Lane.
Old Parsonage Lane26 m
Turn right onto Prestwold Lane.
Prestwold Lane216 m
Turn left onto Loughborough Road/A60.
Loughborough Road3.0 km
Keep left to take Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road579 m
Move left to stay on Nottingham Road/A60.
Nottingham Road536 m
Turn right onto Clarence Street/B589. Continue on B589.
B589523 m
Keep left to stay on B589.
B589113 m
Keep right to take Bridge Street.
Bridge Street249 m
Turn right onto A6/The Rushes. Continue on A6.
A61.3 km
Keep right to stay on A6/Derby Road.
A689 m
Enter Bishop Meadow Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Warwick Way.
Bishop Meadow Roundabout12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Warwick Way.
Warwick Way579 m
Enter Warwick Way Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Epinal Way.
Warwick Way Roundabout4 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way.
Epinal Way449 m
Keep right to stay on Epinal Way.
Epinal Way124 m
Enter Alan Moss Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Alan Moss Road Roundabout63 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way443 m
Enter Ashby Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Ashby Road Roundabout47 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epinal Way/A6004.
Epinal Way833 m
Enter Forest Road Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Forest Road.
Forest Road Roundabout75 m
Exit the roundabout onto Forest Road.
Forest Road243 m
Turn left onto Holt Drive.
Holt Drive24 m
Turn right to stay on Holt Drive.
Holt Drive23 m
Turn right onto Forest Road.
Forest Road271 m
Enter Forest Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Forest Road/B5350.
Forest Road Roundabout43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Forest Road/B5350. Continue on B5350.
B5350833 m
Keep right to stay on B5350.
B5350511 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Loughborough · Route 11 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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Warwick Way Roundabout, Alan Moss Road Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 13.1 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 (30, 40, 50 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.
Geeta Bhawan
Start near Geeta Bhawan.
Junction Church
Continue to Junction Church.
King's Church Loughborough
Continue to King's Church Loughborough.
Swan In The Rushes
Continue to Swan In The Rushes.
Saint Mary's
Continue to Saint Mary's.
Sure Start Children's Centre
Continue to Sure Start Children's Centre.
Higher Education Centre
Continue to Higher Education Centre.
St Peter's Centre
Continue to St Peter's Centre.
Lougborough Salvation Army Church and Community Centre
Continue to Lougborough Salvation Army Church and Community Centre.
Pizza Palace
Continue to Pizza Palace.
Topps Tiles
Continue to Topps Tiles.
Ring O'Bells
Continue to Ring O'Bells.
Dew Drop
Continue to Dew Drop.
ATS Euromaster
Continue to ATS Euromaster.
Loughborough
Continue to Loughborough.
Warwick Way Roundabout
Continue to Warwick Way Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Alan Moss Road Roundabout
Continue to Alan Moss Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Emmanuel Church
Continue to Emmanuel Church.
Church of the Resurrection
Continue to Church of the Resurrection.
Trinity Methodist Church
Finish back near Trinity Methodist Church, completing the loop.
8 roundabouts · 12 turns · 5 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 21 turns · 7 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 21 turns · 4 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 10 turns · 6 sets of lights
This route is 38.4 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Loughborough test centre, not an official DVSA route.