Near Preston test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 55 roundabouts and 10 turns across 73 navigation steps.
This is an independent 31.7 km practice loop near Preston test centre, taking roughly 34 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 Avice Pimblett Way, Tulketh Brow and Oaks Wood. 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 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, named junctions, 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 Preston 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:
The full 73-step drive on real, named roads (about 31.7 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northeast on Chain Caul Road.
Chain Caul Road143 m
Turn left onto Chain Caul Way.
Chain Caul Way619 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Nelson Way.
46 m
Exit the roundabout onto Nelson Way.
Nelson Way114 m
Keep right to stay on Nelson Way.
Nelson Way56 m
Turn left onto A583/Riversway. Continue on A583.
A5831.6 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A582/Edith Rigby Way.
107 m
Exit the roundabout onto A582/Edith Rigby Way.
A5821.8 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
75 m
Exit the roundabout onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
Avice Pimblett Way302 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
Avice Pimblett Way359 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
67 m
Exit the roundabout onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
Avice Pimblett Way56 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cottam Way/B5468.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cottam Way/B5468.
Cottam Way806 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cottam Way/B5468.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cottam Way/B5468.
Cottam Way621 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
3 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
Tom Benson Way638 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
79 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
Tom Benson Way635 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
Tom Benson Way458 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tom Benson Way/B6241. Continue on B6241.
B62412.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Tulketh Brow/B6241.
16 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tulketh Brow/B6241.
Tulketh Brow162 m
Turn right onto Water Lane/A583. Continue on A583.
A583218 m
Turn left onto A5072/West Strand. Continue on A5072.
A5072667 m
Turn right onto A59/Guild Way.
A591.1 km
Enter Oaks Wood and take the 1st exit onto Golden Way/B5254.
Oaks Wood1 m
Exit the roundabout onto Golden Way/B5254.
Golden Way135 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Leyland Road/B5254.
70 m
Exit the roundabout onto Leyland Road/B5254.
Leyland Road2.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto The Cawsey.
8 m
Exit the roundabout onto The Cawsey.
The Cawsey1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Carrwood Road.
103 m
Exit the roundabout onto Carrwood Road.
Carrwood Road1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Leyland Road/B5254.
59 m
Exit the roundabout onto Leyland Road/B5254.
Leyland Road2.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Golden Way/B5254.
12 m
Exit the roundabout onto Golden Way/B5254.
Golden Way140 m
Enter Oaks Wood and take the 2nd exit onto A59/Guild Way.
Oaks Wood51 m
Exit the roundabout onto A59/Guild Way.
A59950 m
Take the exit.
Junction Road31 m
Keep right to stay on Junction Road.
Junction Road157 m
Move left onto A5072/West Strand.
A5072578 m
Make a sharp right onto A583/Watery Lane. Continue on A583.
A583240 m
Turn left onto Tulketh Brow/B6241.
Tulketh Brow152 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Tulketh Brow/B6241.
17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tulketh Brow/B6241. Continue on B6241.
B62412.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
34 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tom Benson Way/B6241.
Tom Benson Way458 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Cottam Way/B5468.
2 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cottam Way/B5468.
Cottam Way621 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cottam Way/B5468.
21 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cottam Way/B5468.
Cottam Way800 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
31 m
Exit the roundabout onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
Avice Pimblett Way67 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
Avice Pimblett Way361 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Avice Pimblett Way/B5468.
Avice Pimblett Way290 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A582/Edith Rigby Way.
4 m
Exit the roundabout onto A582/Edith Rigby Way.
A5821.6 km
Take the A583 exit.
A5831.7 km
Move right to stay on A583/Riversway.
A583123 m
Turn right onto Nelson Way.
Nelson Way172 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Chain Caul Way.
1 m
Exit the roundabout onto Chain Caul Way.
Chain Caul Way619 m
Turn right onto Chain Caul Road.
Chain Caul Road143 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Preston · Roundabout practice loop 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.
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.
Local junctions
Take each junction on its merits, good observation, clear signalling and the right speed on approach. Rehearse the sequence so nothing surprises you on the day.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Sunwin Renault Preston
Start near Sunwin Renault Preston.
Avice Pimblett Way
Continue to Avice Pimblett Way, taking the junction with good observation.
Tulketh Brow
Continue to Tulketh Brow, taking the junction with good observation.
Wycliffe Memorial Evangelical Church
Continue to Wycliffe Memorial Evangelical Church.
Preston Cycles
Continue to Preston Cycles.
Rhodes Beds
Continue to Rhodes Beds.
Travis Perkins
Continue to Travis Perkins.
Londis
Continue to Londis.
Penwortham
Continue to Penwortham.
Asda Express
Continue to Asda Express.
Penwortham Sports and Social Club
Continue to Penwortham Sports and Social Club.
St. Mary Magdalen's R.C. Church Penwortham
Continue to St. Mary Magdalen's R.C. Church Penwortham.
Bright Sparks Day Nursery
Continue to Bright Sparks Day Nursery.
Pear Tree
Continue to Pear Tree.
Thoroughgoods
Continue to Thoroughgoods.
Penwortham Bridge Methodist Church
Continue to Penwortham Bridge Methodist Church.
Oaks Wood
Continue to Oaks Wood, taking the junction with good observation.
FAB Home Interiors
Continue to FAB Home Interiors.
Grand Junction
Continue to Grand Junction.
Wheatsheaf
Finish back near Wheatsheaf, completing the loop.
10 roundabouts · 33 turns
6 roundabouts · 14 turns
10 roundabouts · 31 turns
8 roundabouts · 10 turns
This route is 31.7 km and takes about 34 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Preston test centre, not an official DVSA route.