Near Maidstone test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 3 roundabouts and 19 turns across 24 navigation steps.
This is an independent 69.8 km practice loop near Maidstone test centre, taking roughly 30 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 Running Horse 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, 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, pubs, churches and named junctions, 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 128-step drive on real, named roads (about 69.7 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 left onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road83 m
Turn left onto Coombe Road.
Coombe Road208 m
Turn left onto Quarry Road.
Quarry Road274 m
Move left onto Courtenay Road.
Courtenay Road88 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Postley Road.
85 m
Exit the roundabout onto Postley Road.
Postley Road65 m
Turn right onto Forest Hill.
Forest Hill557 m
Turn right onto Courtenay Road.
Courtenay Road517 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Postley Road.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Postley Road.
Postley Road502 m
Turn right onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road251 m
Turn right onto A229/Loose Road.
A229136 m
Move right onto A229/Sheals Crescent. Continue on A229.
A229361 m
Turn left onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road298 m
Turn left onto Brenchley Road.
Brenchley Road96 m
Turn right onto Coombe Road.
Coombe Road324 m
Turn right onto Courtenay Road.
Courtenay Road77 m
Turn right onto Tovil Road/B2010.
Tovil Road307 m
Turn right onto Brenchley Road.
Brenchley Road241 m
Turn right to stay on Brenchley Road.
Brenchley Road22 m
Turn left onto Courtenay Road.
Courtenay Road41 m
Make a sharp left onto Brenchley Road.
Brenchley Road281 m
Turn right onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road216 m
Turn right onto Coombe Road.
Coombe Road313 m
Turn right onto Brenchley Road.
Brenchley Road96 m
Turn left onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road1.5 km
Move right onto Lower Road/B2010.
Lower Road1.4 km
Turn left onto Vicarage Lane.
Vicarage Lane69 m
Turn left onto Forge Lane.
Forge Lane1.0 km
Turn left onto Dean Street.
Dean Street922 m
Make a sharp left onto Lower Road/B2010.
Lower Road1.4 km
Turn left onto Vicarage Lane.
Vicarage Lane69 m
Turn left onto Forge Lane.
Forge Lane1.0 km
Turn left onto Dean Street.
Dean Street2.0 km
Move right onto Tovil Road/B2010.
Tovil Road939 m
Turn right onto A229/Loose Road.
A22982 m
Turn left onto Barton Road.
Barton Road166 m
Turn left to stay on Barton Road.
Barton Road126 m
Turn right onto Lower Road.
Lower Road95 m
Turn left to stay on Lower Road.
Lower Road28 m
Turn right to stay on Lower Road.
Lower Road112 m
Turn left.
23 m
Turn left.
22 m
Move right onto Lower Road.
Lower Road85 m
Turn left to stay on Lower Road.
Lower Road28 m
Turn right to stay on Lower Road.
Lower Road95 m
Turn left onto St Phillips Avenue.
St Phillips Avenue126 m
Turn right onto Barton Road.
Barton Road168 m
Turn left onto A229/Loose Road.
A22935 m
Move right onto A229/Sheals Crescent. Continue on A229.
A229361 m
Turn left onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road4.7 km
Turn left onto Heath Road/B2163.
Heath Road524 m
Move right onto Culpepper Road.
Culpepper Road131 m
Make a sharp left onto Heath Road/B2163.
Heath Road648 m
Turn right onto Dean Street.
Dean Street4.2 km
Turn left onto College Road/B2010.
College Road577 m
Move left onto A229/College Road. Continue on A229.
A229348 m
Move right to stay on A229.
A229254 m
Turn right onto A229/Lower Stone Street.
A229202 m
Turn left onto A249/Mote Road. Continue on A249.
A249414 m
Keep left to take Ashford Road.
Ashford Road404 m
Turn right onto Wyke Manor Road.
Wyke Manor Road128 m
Turn right onto Church Street.
Church Street115 m
Turn right to stay on Church Street.
Church Street100 m
Turn left onto King Street.
King Street283 m
Turn left onto A249/Andrew Broughton Way.
A24943 m
Move right.
40 m
Move right onto A249/Andrew Broughton Way.
A24990 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. Continue on A229.
A229571 m
Move right onto A229/Sheals Crescent. Continue on A229.
A229361 m
Turn left onto Old Tovil Road.
Old Tovil Road341 m
Turn right onto King Edward Road.
King Edward Road386 m
Turn left onto A229/Hayle Road.
A2291.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A229/Royal Engineers' Road.
52 m
Exit the roundabout onto A229/Royal Engineers' Road.
A229523 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A229/Royal Engineers' Road.
64 m
Exit the roundabout onto A229/Royal Engineers' Road. Continue on A229.
A2297.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Maidstone Road/A229.
37 m
Exit the roundabout onto Maidstone Road/A229.
Maidstone Road667 m
Turn right to stay on A229.
A22964 m
Turn left onto Horsted Way/A230. Continue on A230.
A2302.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Railway Street/A230.
49 m
Exit the roundabout onto Railway Street/A230.
Railway Street162 m
Turn right onto Best Street/A231.
Best Street598 m
Turn left onto Union Street/A231. Continue on A231.
A231788 m
Turn left onto Dock Road/A231.
Dock Road674 m
Turn left.
21 m
Move right onto Maingate Road.
Maingate Road31 m
Move right onto Church Lane.
Church Lane95 m
Turn right onto College Road.
College Road24 m
Turn left to stay on College Road.
College Road382 m
Move left onto Marc Brunel Way.
Marc Brunel Way96 m
Turn right.
10 m
Turn left.
136 m
Turn right onto Maingate Road.
Maingate Road333 m
Move left.
35 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue.
47 m
Exit the roundabout onto Western Avenue.
Western Avenue114 m
Keep right to stay on Western Avenue.
Western Avenue70 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Dock Road.
58 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dock Road.
Dock Road641 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Dock Road/A231.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dock Road/A231. Continue on A231.
A2311.7 km
Turn right onto Best Street/A231.
Best Street563 m
Turn left onto Railway Street/A230.
Railway Street170 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Maidstone Road/A230.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Maidstone Road/A230.
A2303.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Maidstone Road/A229.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Maidstone Road/A229. Continue on A229.
A2297.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A229/Royal Engineers' Road.
79 m
Exit the roundabout onto A229/Royal Engineers' Road.
A229527 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A229/Waterside.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto A229/Waterside. Continue on A229.
A229787 m
Keep left to stay on A229.
A229487 m
Turn right onto A229/Lower Stone Street. Continue on A229.
A229805 m
Move right onto A229/Sheals Crescent.
A229286 m
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 5 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.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
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
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Running Horse Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 21.2 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, 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.
Pizza Hut Delivery
Start near Pizza Hut Delivery.
Bull
Continue to Bull.
Royal Paper Mill
Continue to Royal Paper Mill.
Walnut Tree
Continue to Walnut Tree.
Horseshoes
Continue to Horseshoes.
Birds Family Funeral Directors
Continue to Birds Family Funeral Directors.
Maidstone Baptist Church
Continue to Maidstone Baptist Church.
Trinity Foyer
Continue to Trinity Foyer.
Pilot
Continue to Pilot.
Running Horse Roundabout
Continue to Running Horse Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Shell Select
Continue to Shell Select.
KFC
Continue to KFC.
Chatham
Continue to Chatham.
Chatham Railway Station
Continue to Chatham Railway Station.
Royal Dockyard Church
Continue to Royal Dockyard Church.
Salvation Army, Chatham
Continue to Salvation Army, Chatham.
Millenium Memorial Garden
Continue to Millenium Memorial Garden.
St Stephen's Church
Continue to St Stephen's Church.
Tiger Moth
Continue to Tiger Moth.
Maidstone East
Finish back near Maidstone East, completing the loop.
6 roundabouts · 12 turns · 3 sets of lights
2 roundabouts · 11 turns · 4 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 19 turns · 2 sets of lights
1 roundabout · 18 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 69.8 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Maidstone test centre, not an official DVSA route.