Near Middlesbrough test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 7 roundabouts, 11 turns and 1 signalled junction across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 41.2 km practice loop near Middlesbrough 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 Cargo Fleet Lane Roundabout, Tees Dock Road Roundabout and Marton Road 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 named junctions, churches, shops 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 Middlesbrough 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 76-step drive on real, named roads (about 41.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northwest on Maxwell Road.
Maxwell Road57 m
Turn left onto Sotherby Road.
Sotherby Road218 m
Turn right onto Queensway.
Queensway288 m
Turn left onto South Bank Road.
South Bank Road454 m
Turn right onto Cargo Fleet Lane/A171.
Cargo Fleet Lane123 m
Enter Cargo Fleet Lane Roundabout and take the 7th exit towards Whitby/Guisborough.
Cargo Fleet Lane Roundabout184 m
Exit the roundabout towards Whitby/Guisborough.
Cargo Fleet Lane1.5 km
Turn right onto Homerton Road.
Homerton Road803 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Ormesby Road.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road483 m
Turn right onto Dorrien Crescent.
Dorrien Crescent170 m
Turn left onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road355 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road457 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road507 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road202 m
Turn left onto Carmarthen Road.
Carmarthen Road115 m
Turn left onto Endeston Road.
Endeston Road96 m
Turn left onto Dunmow Avenue.
Dunmow Avenue63 m
Turn left onto Blanchland Road.
Blanchland Road83 m
Turn right onto Carmarthen Road.
Carmarthen Road61 m
Turn right onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road202 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
24 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road507 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Ormesby Road.
34 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road458 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road483 m
Turn right onto Dorrien Crescent.
Dorrien Crescent170 m
Turn left onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road355 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
57 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road457 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
43 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road507 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Ormesby Road.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Ormesby Road.
Ormesby Road439 m
Turn left onto Balmoral Road.
Balmoral Road395 m
Turn right onto Pritchett Road.
Pritchett Road264 m
Turn left onto High Street/B1380.
High Street285 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit towards Guisborough/Whitby/Stokesley.
59 m
Exit the roundabout towards Guisborough/Whitby/Stokesley.
Sunny Field416 m
Turn left onto Ainstable Road.
Ainstable Road344 m
Turn left onto Allendale Road.
Allendale Road618 m
Turn left onto Normanby Road/B1380.
Normanby Road259 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto High Street/B1380.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto High Street/B1380. Continue on B1380.
B13802.3 km
Turn left onto Stokesley Road/A172.
Stokesley Road904 m
Take the A174 exit.
A1746.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards Teesport/(Middlesbrough)/Grangetown.
45 m
Exit the roundabout towards Teesport/(Middlesbrough)/Grangetown.
A10531.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto A1053/Greystone Road.
198 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1053/Greystone Road.
A10531.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit towards Teesport/(Middlesbrough)/Grangetown.
247 m
Exit the roundabout towards Teesport/(Middlesbrough)/Grangetown.
A10531.9 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1053.
37 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1053.
A1053312 m
Enter Tees Dock Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A66/Bolckow Road.
Tees Dock Road Roundabout18 m
Exit the roundabout onto A66/Bolckow Road. Continue on A66.
A662.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A66.
86 m
Exit the roundabout onto A66.
A662.9 km
Take the Marton Road Interchange exit.
Marton Road Interchange319 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto A66/Marton Road Interchange.
188 m
Exit the roundabout onto A66.
A66439 m
Keep right to stay on A66.
A662.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Middlesbrough Road.
115 m
Exit the roundabout onto Middlesbrough Road.
Middlesbrough Road527 m
Turn left onto Normanby Road.
Normanby Road67 m
Turn left onto A66.
A66517 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Middlesbrough Road.
46 m
Exit the roundabout onto Middlesbrough Road.
Middlesbrough Road467 m
Turn left onto Brunel Road.
Brunel Road329 m
Turn right onto Sotherby Road.
Sotherby Road393 m
Turn left onto Maxwell Road.
Maxwell Road51 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Middlesbrough · Route 17 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.
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 Cargo Fleet Lane Roundabout, Tees Dock Road Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Dual-carriageway join
About 22.5 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, 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.
Cargo Fleet Lane Roundabout
Start near Cargo Fleet Lane Roundabout.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Continue to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Farmfoods
Continue to Farmfoods.
North Ormesby Institute
Continue to North Ormesby Institute.
Heron Foods
Continue to Heron Foods.
Ormesby Methodist Church
Continue to Ormesby Methodist Church.
Marton
Continue to Marton.
St Cuthbert's Parish Church
Continue to St Cuthbert's Parish Church.
Gateway Buoys
Continue to Gateway Buoys.
Tees Dock Road Roundabout
Continue to Tees Dock Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Burger King
Continue to Burger King.
Taco Bell
Continue to Taco Bell.
Evans Halshaw Nissan
Continue to Evans Halshaw Nissan.
Marton Road Interchange
Continue to Marton Road Interchange, taking the junction with good observation.
Odeon
Continue to Odeon.
Evans Halshaw
Continue to Evans Halshaw.
Londis
Continue to Londis.
Masjid-E-Nomira
Continue to Masjid-E-Nomira.
ST. Peters R.C
Continue to ST. Peters R.C.
ATS Euromaster
Finish back near ATS Euromaster, completing the loop.
7 roundabouts · 20 turns · 2 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 16 turns · 2 sets of lights
11 roundabouts · 13 turns · 3 sets of lights
7 roundabouts · 12 turns · 2 sets of lights
This route is 41.2 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Middlesbrough test centre, not an official DVSA route.