Near Monmouth test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts, 18 turns and 5 signalled junctions across 29 navigation steps.
This is an independent 43.9 km practice loop near Monmouth 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 St. Thomas's Square and St. James' Square. 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 pubs, churches, shops and stations, 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 Monmouth 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 92-step drive on real, named roads (about 44.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast.
22 m
Turn left.
12 m
Turn left onto Old Dixton Road.
Old Dixton Road154 m
Enter St. James' Square and take the 1st exit onto St James' Street/A466.
St. James' Square25 m
Exit the roundabout onto St James' Street/A466.
St James' Street127 m
Turn right onto St Mary's Street.
St Mary's Street193 m
Turn right onto Whitecross Street.
Whitecross Street123 m
Turn left onto Monk Street/A466. Continue on A466.
A466399 m
Turn right onto The Gardens.
The Gardens36 m
Keep left to stay on The Gardens.
The Gardens384 m
Turn right onto Dixton Close.
Dixton Close273 m
Turn left to stay on Dixton Close.
Dixton Close62 m
Turn right onto Dixton Road/A466.
Dixton Road275 m
Keep right to take Priory Street/B4293.
Priory Street667 m
Turn left onto Blestium Street/B4293.
Blestium Street134 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Blestium Street.
14 m
Exit the roundabout onto Blestium Street.
Blestium Street60 m
Keep right to stay on Blestium Street.
Blestium Street146 m
Make a sharp left.
90 m
Turn right onto Blestium Street.
Blestium Street185 m
Keep left to stay on Blestium Street.
Blestium Street35 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto B4293.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto B4293.
B4293162 m
Turn left onto Cinderhill Street/B4233.
Cinderhill Street124 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Portal Road/B4293.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Portal Road/B4293.
Portal Road298 m
Keep left to stay on Portal Road/B4293.
Portal Road109 m
Keep left to stay on Portal Road/B4293.
Portal Road590 m
Keep straight to take Portal Road/B4293.
Portal Road100 m
Keep right at the fork.
38 m
Turn left.
13 m
Turn left onto B4293.
B429354 m
Keep left to stay on B4293.
B4293859 m
Turn left onto Link Road.
Link Road910 m
Turn right onto Wonastow Road.
Wonastow Road637 m
Turn right onto Drybridge Street/B4233.
Drybridge Street36 m
Keep left to stay on B4233.
B4233110 m
Enter St. Thomas's Square and take the 1st exit onto Cinderhill Street/B4233.
St. Thomas's Square37 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cinderhill Street/B4233.
Cinderhill Street188 m
Turn left onto B4293.
B4293162 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Blestium Street.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Blestium Street.
Blestium Street207 m
Make a sharp left.
90 m
Turn right onto Blestium Street.
Blestium Street185 m
Keep left to stay on Blestium Street.
Blestium Street35 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto B4293.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto B4293.
B4293162 m
Turn left onto Cinderhill Street/B4233.
Cinderhill Street124 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto B4293.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto B4293.
B429392 m
Turn left to take the A40 ramp.
A401.7 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 5th exit onto A40.
157 m
Exit the roundabout onto A40.
A4011.0 km
Keep right to stay on A40.
A4076 m
Take the Raglan exit.
A40902 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on A40.
A40264 m
Take the exit.
A4011.5 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit.
18 m
Exit the roundabout.
39 m
Move left onto Dixton Road/A466.
Dixton Road886 m
Turn right onto Monk Street/A466. Continue on A466.
A466175 m
Keep left to take Osbaston Road.
Osbaston Road113 m
Keep right to stay on Osbaston Road.
Osbaston Road635 m
Turn right onto Chaucer Way.
Chaucer Way211 m
Move right onto Prospect Road.
Prospect Road279 m
Turn left onto Highfield Road.
Highfield Road87 m
Turn left onto Duchess Road.
Duchess Road126 m
Turn left onto Duchess Close.
Duchess Close65 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Duchess Close.
Duchess Close65 m
Turn left onto Duchess Road.
Duchess Road304 m
Turn left onto St Mary's Road.
St Mary's Road89 m
Move left onto Osbaston Road.
Osbaston Road138 m
Keep left to stay on Osbaston Road.
Osbaston Road804 m
Move right onto The Parade/A466. Continue on A466.
A466370 m
Enter St. James' Square and take the 2nd exit onto St James' Street/A466.
St. James' Square57 m
Exit the roundabout onto St James' Street/A466.
St James' Street127 m
Turn right onto St Mary's Street.
St Mary's Street193 m
Turn right onto Whitecross Street.
Whitecross Street123 m
Turn left onto Monk Street/A466. Continue on A466.
A466277 m
Keep left to take Osbaston Road.
Osbaston Road113 m
Keep right to stay on Osbaston Road.
Osbaston Road829 m
Move right onto St Mary's Road.
St Mary's Road714 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Lancaster Way.
Lancaster Way466 m
Turn left onto Beaufort Road.
Beaufort Road363 m
Turn right onto Highfield Road.
Highfield Road393 m
Turn right onto Highfield Close.
Highfield Close106 m
Move left.
20 m
Make a right U-turn.
20 m
Move right onto Highfield Close.
Highfield Close106 m
Turn right onto Highfield Road.
Highfield Road38 m
Turn right onto Hereford Road/A466.
Hereford Road1.3 km
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Monmouth · Route 9 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
Approach in the correct lane, signal on the exit before yours, and keep checking your mirrors as you leave.
Dual-carriageway join
About 25.6 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, 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.
Kings Head
Start near Kings Head.
Monmouth Methodist Church
Continue to Monmouth Methodist Church.
Punch House
Continue to Punch House.
St Mary's Priory Church
Continue to St Mary's Priory Church.
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church
Continue to St Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
Car Care Monmouth
Continue to Car Care Monmouth.
Castle Inn
Continue to Castle Inn.
Monmouth Bus Station
Continue to Monmouth Bus Station.
Robin Hood
Continue to Robin Hood.
Superdrug
Continue to Superdrug.
Bbeyoutiful
Continue to Bbeyoutiful.
Church of St Thomas the Martyr
Continue to Church of St Thomas the Martyr.
Green Dragon
Continue to Green Dragon.
Riverside Hotel
Continue to Riverside Hotel.
St. Thomas's Square
Continue to St. Thomas's Square, taking the junction with good observation.
Osbaston V.C. Primary
Continue to Osbaston V.C. Primary.
Monmouth Baptist Church
Continue to Monmouth Baptist Church.
Monmouth Community Hub
Continue to Monmouth Community Hub.
Monmouth War Memorial
Continue to Monmouth War Memorial.
St. James' Square
Finish back near St. James' Square, completing the loop.
6 roundabouts · 19 turns · 5 sets of lights
4 roundabouts · 19 turns · 4 sets of lights
8 roundabouts · 13 turns · 5 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 17 turns · 4 sets of lights
This route is 43.9 km and takes about 40 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Monmouth test centre, not an official DVSA route.