Near Loughton test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts, 18 turns and 3 signalled junctions across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 53.2 km practice route near Loughton test centre, taking roughly 35 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 Crooked Mile Roundabout and Robin Hood 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, 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, stations, named junctions and pubs, 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 Loughton 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 105-step drive on real, named roads (about 53.1 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southeast.
20 m
Turn right onto King's Green.
King's Green14 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121.
High Road634 m
Turn right.
43 m
Turn left onto Smart's Lane.
Smart's Lane32 m
Turn left onto High Beech Road.
High Beech Road32 m
Turn left onto High Road/A121.
High Road594 m
Turn right onto Traps Hill.
Traps Hill705 m
Turn right onto Spareleaze Hill.
Spareleaze Hill744 m
Turn right onto Tycehurst Hill.
Tycehurst Hill793 m
Turn right onto Spareleaze Hill.
Spareleaze Hill641 m
Turn right onto Brook Road.
Brook Road109 m
Turn right onto Brooklyn Avenue.
Brooklyn Avenue347 m
Turn left onto Priory Road.
Priory Road173 m
Turn left onto Churchfields.
Churchfields105 m
Turn right onto Brooklyn Avenue.
Brooklyn Avenue110 m
Turn left onto Brook Road.
Brook Road240 m
Turn left onto Alderton Hill.
Alderton Hill888 m
Turn left onto Traps Hill.
Traps Hill18 m
Turn left onto Spareleaze Hill.
Spareleaze Hill791 m
Turn left onto Brook Road.
Brook Road131 m
Turn right onto Alderton Hill.
Alderton Hill79 m
Turn left onto Roding Road.
Roding Road560 m
Turn right onto Valley Hill.
Valley Hill91 m
Turn left onto Malvern Gardens.
Malvern Gardens158 m
Turn left onto Southern Drive.
Southern Drive84 m
Turn left onto Roding Road.
Roding Road717 m
Turn left onto Alderton Hill.
Alderton Hill172 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Old Station Road.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Old Station Road.
Old Station Road228 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121.
High Road85 m
Turn left onto High Beech Road.
High Beech Road439 m
Turn left onto Smarts Lane.
Smarts Lane230 m
Turn left onto Earl's Path.
Earl's Path887 m
Enter Robin Hood Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cross Roads.
Robin Hood Roundabout55 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cross Roads.
Cross Roads1.5 km
Keep left to take Avey Lane.
Avey Lane1.8 km
Turn right onto Sewardstone Road/A112.
Sewardstone Road491 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Sewardstone Road.
50 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sewardstone Road.
Sewardstone Road1.0 km
Move right onto Crooked Mile.
Crooked Mile335 m
Enter Crooked Mile Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Crooked Mile/B194.
Crooked Mile Roundabout112 m
Exit the roundabout onto Crooked Mile/B194.
Crooked Mile421 m
Turn left onto Marle Gardens.
Marle Gardens49 m
Turn left onto Valley Close.
Valley Close37 m
Turn right to stay on Valley Close.
Valley Close95 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Valley Close.
Valley Close95 m
Turn left to stay on Valley Close.
Valley Close37 m
Turn right onto Marle Gardens.
Marle Gardens49 m
Turn right onto Crooked Mile/B194.
Crooked Mile407 m
Enter Crooked Mile Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Crooked Mile.
Crooked Mile Roundabout62 m
Exit the roundabout onto Crooked Mile.
Crooked Mile338 m
Move left onto Sewardstone Road.
Sewardstone Road1.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Sewardstone Road/A112.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Sewardstone Road/A112.
Sewardstone Road503 m
Turn left onto Avey Lane.
Avey Lane3.3 km
Enter Robin Hood Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Epping New Road/A104.
Robin Hood Roundabout81 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epping New Road/A104.
Epping New Road3.0 km
Turn left onto Church Road.
Church Road261 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121.
High Road138 m
Turn left onto Palmerston Road/B170.
Palmerston Road718 m
Turn left onto Roebuck Lane.
Roebuck Lane523 m
Turn left to stay on Roebuck Lane.
Roebuck Lane307 m
Turn left onto North End.
North End137 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121. Continue on A121.
A1212.7 km
Turn left onto York Hill.
York Hill39 m
Turn left onto King's Green.
King's Green70 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121.
High Road523 m
Turn right onto Forest Road.
Forest Road1.5 km
Enter Robin Hood Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cross Roads.
Robin Hood Roundabout55 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cross Roads.
Cross Roads917 m
Turn left onto Mott Street.
Mott Street126 m
Turn left onto Church Road.
Church Road1.3 km
Move right onto Lippitts Hill.
Lippitts Hill1.4 km
Turn right onto Mott Street.
Mott Street1.4 km
Turn right onto High Beech Loughton.
High Beech Loughton913 m
Enter Robin Hood Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Epping New Road/A104.
Robin Hood Roundabout81 m
Exit the roundabout onto Epping New Road/A104.
Epping New Road3.1 km
Turn left onto Hills Road.
Hills Road59 m
Turn left onto Trent Road.
Trent Road92 m
Turn left onto Church Road.
Church Road77 m
Turn right onto Epping New Road/A104.
Epping New Road3.0 km
Enter Robin Hood Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Earl's Path.
Robin Hood Roundabout92 m
Exit the roundabout onto Earl's Path.
Earl's Path887 m
Turn right onto Smarts Lane.
Smarts Lane689 m
Turn left onto High Beech Road.
High Beech Road32 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121.
High Road330 m
Turn right onto Upper Park.
Upper Park513 m
Turn left onto Nursery Road.
Nursery Road141 m
Turn left onto Longfield.
Longfield187 m
Turn left to stay on Longfield.
Longfield21 m
Turn right to stay on Longfield.
Longfield128 m
Turn right onto Nursery Road.
Nursery Road141 m
Turn right onto Upper Park.
Upper Park513 m
Turn left onto High Road/A121. Continue on A121.
A1211.1 km
Turn left onto York Hill.
York Hill39 m
Turn left onto King's Green.
King's Green70 m
Turn right onto High Road/A121.
High Road555 m
Turn left onto Station Road.
Station Road353 m
Turn left onto Old Station Road.
Old Station Road10 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Alderton Hill.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Alderton Hill.
Alderton Hill1.1 km
Turn left onto Traps Hill.
Traps Hill724 m
Turn left onto High Road/A121.
High Road379 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Loughton · 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.
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 Crooked Mile Roundabout, Robin Hood Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Changing speed limits
Limits change across this route (20, 30, 40 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.
Loughton Methodist Church
Start near Loughton Methodist Church.
St Mary the Virgin
Continue to St Mary the Virgin.
Loughton Station
Continue to Loughton Station.
St Michael and All Angels, Loughton
Continue to St Michael and All Angels, Loughton.
Crooked Mile Roundabout
Continue to Crooked Mile Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
New Inn
Continue to New Inn.
Robin Hood Roundabout
Continue to Robin Hood Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Glyn Hopkin Repair
Continue to Glyn Hopkin Repair.
Glyn Hopkin Sales
Continue to Glyn Hopkin Sales.
Braeside School
Continue to Braeside School.
Buckhurst Hill Baptist Church
Continue to Buckhurst Hill Baptist Church.
Fifteen York Hill
Continue to Fifteen York Hill.
Repro @ 96
Continue to Repro @ 96.
Bear Nails
Continue to Bear Nails.
Owl
Continue to Owl.
Warren Wood
Continue to Warren Wood.
Carpenters Arms
Continue to Carpenters Arms.
Victoria Tavern
Continue to Victoria Tavern.
Majestic
Continue to Majestic.
Loughton Town Hall
Finish back near Loughton Town Hall, completing the loop.
1 roundabout · 13 turns
3 roundabouts · 18 turns · 1 set of lights
5 roundabouts · 13 turns
5 roundabouts · 9 turns
This route is 53.2 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Loughton test centre, not an official DVSA route.