Near Maidstone test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts, 11 turns and 4 signalled junctions across 18 navigation steps.
This is an independent 35.3 km practice loop near Maidstone test centre, taking roughly 25 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, dual-carriageway joins, 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, churches 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 Maidstone 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 83-step drive on real, named roads (about 35.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west.
21 m
Turn right.
39 m
Turn right onto Armstrong Road.
Armstrong Road237 m
Turn left onto A229/Loose Road. Continue on A229.
A229735 m
Turn right onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road251 m
Turn right onto A229/Loose Road.
A2293.1 km
Turn right onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue550 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Wallis Avenue.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue45 m
Turn right onto Goldings Way.
Goldings Way52 m
Turn right onto Park Wood Walk.
Park Wood Walk105 m
Turn right onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane57 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Wallis Avenue.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue91 m
Turn left onto Wrangleden Road.
Wrangleden Road335 m
Turn right onto Wrangleden Close.
Wrangleden Close59 m
Turn left.
1 m
Make a right U-turn.
1 m
Turn right onto Wrangleden Close.
Wrangleden Close59 m
Turn left onto Wrangleden Road.
Wrangleden Road334 m
Turn right onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue91 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Wallis Avenue.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue45 m
Turn right onto Goldings Way.
Goldings Way52 m
Turn right onto Park Wood Walk.
Park Wood Walk105 m
Turn left onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane165 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Brishing Lane.
38 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane127 m
Turn left onto Thomas Rider Way.
Thomas Rider Way66 m
Turn right.
78 m
Turn right onto Long Shaw Close.
Long Shaw Close65 m
Turn left.
13 m
Make a right U-turn.
13 m
Turn right onto Long Shaw Close.
Long Shaw Close65 m
Turn left.
78 m
Turn left onto Thomas Rider Way.
Thomas Rider Way66 m
Turn right onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane127 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Brishing Lane.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane165 m
Turn right onto Park Wood Walk.
Park Wood Walk291 m
Turn right onto Longshaw Road.
Longshaw Road72 m
Turn left onto Selby Road.
Selby Road189 m
Turn right onto Bicknor Road.
Bicknor Road920 m
Turn left onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue251 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Wallis Avenue.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue550 m
Turn left onto Sutton Road/A274.
Sutton Road2.1 km
Move right onto A229/Loose Road.
A2292.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Staceys Street/B2012.
88 m
Exit the roundabout onto Staceys Street/B2012.
Staceys Street98 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Lower Boxley Road/B2012.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Lower Boxley Road/B2012.
Lower Boxley Road265 m
Turn right onto Lower Boxley Road/B2012. Continue on B2012.
B2012778 m
Turn right onto A249/Sittingbourne Road.
A249333 m
Turn left onto A249/Andrew Broughton Way.
A249119 m
Turn right to stay on A249.
A24941 m
Turn right onto A249/Ashford Road.
A249115 m
Move left onto A249/Wat Tyler Way. Continue on A249.
A249402 m
Take the A229 exit towards Hastings/Tovil.
A24964 m
Turn left onto A229/Upper Stone Street.
A2293.5 km
Turn right onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue363 m
Turn right onto Brishing Close.
Brishing Close68 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Brishing Close.
Brishing Close68 m
Turn right onto Wallis Avenue.
Wallis Avenue187 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Brishing Lane.
65 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane222 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Brishing Lane.
38 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brishing Lane.
Brishing Lane1.4 km
Turn right onto Heath Road/B2163.
Heath Road3.3 km
Turn left.
9 m
Turn left.
29 m
Turn right onto Heath Road/B2163.
Heath Road1.2 km
Turn left onto A229/Linton Road. Continue on A229.
A2293.4 km
Move right onto A229/Loose Road.
A22926 m
Turn right onto Sutton Road/A274.
Sutton Road1.1 km
Turn right onto Grove Road.
Grove Road31 m
Turn right to stay on Grove Road.
Grove Road40 m
Turn left onto Sutton Road/A274.
Sutton Road1.1 km
Move right onto A229/Loose Road. Continue on A229.
A2291.1 km
Turn left onto Postley Road.
Postley Road427 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Armstrong Road.
27 m
Exit the roundabout onto Armstrong Road.
Armstrong Road290 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Maidstone · Route 2 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.
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 10.8 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, 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.
KFC
Start near KFC.
Leigh Academy Oaks
Continue to Leigh Academy Oaks.
Lewis’s Fish and Grill
Continue to Lewis’s Fish and Grill.
Triumph of Grace Ministries
Continue to Triumph of Grace Ministries.
Charlies Chippy
Continue to Charlies Chippy.
Greggs
Continue to Greggs.
Holy Family Church
Continue to Holy Family Church.
Maidstone Aquatics
Continue to Maidstone Aquatics.
Nicki's Florist
Continue to Nicki's Florist.
Drakes Cork & Cask House
Continue to Drakes Cork & Cask House.
Hare & Hounds
Continue to Hare & Hounds.
Maidstone Baptist Church
Continue to Maidstone Baptist Church.
Coach House
Continue to Coach House.
Pilot
Continue to Pilot.
Cock Inn
Continue to Cock Inn.
Angels Independent Family Funeral Service
Continue to Angels Independent Family Funeral Service.
Holy Trinity Church Coxheath
Continue to Holy Trinity Church Coxheath.
Walnut Tree
Continue to Walnut Tree.
Swan
Continue to Swan.
Wheatsheaf
Finish back near Wheatsheaf, completing the loop.
3 roundabouts · 19 turns
6 roundabouts · 12 turns · 3 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 19 turns · 2 sets of lights
1 roundabout · 18 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 35.3 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Maidstone test centre, not an official DVSA route.