Near Shirley test centre
Rated easy from its real manoeuvre load, 2 roundabouts and 16 turns across 21 navigation steps.
This is an independent 26.6 km practice route near Shirley 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.
Along the way you'll meet Shakespeare Drive. 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, 20 mph zones, changing speed limits, residential manoeuvres, busy a-roads 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 churches, pubs, named junctions and shops, 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 Shirley 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 91-step drive on real, named roads (about 26.5 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west.
144 m
Turn right.
15 m
Turn right onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34140 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A34/Stratford Road.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34547 m
Turn right onto Solihull Road.
Solihull Road23 m
Turn right.
77 m
Turn right.
11 m
Turn left onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34228 m
Turn right onto Church Road.
Church Road305 m
Keep left to take Bills Lane.
Bills Lane133 m
Turn left onto Queens Avenue.
Queens Avenue388 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Shakespeare Drive.
125 m
Exit the roundabout onto Shakespeare Drive.
Shakespeare Drive424 m
Turn left onto Bills Lane.
Bills Lane522 m
Turn right onto Neville Road.
Neville Road75 m
Move right to stay on Neville Road.
Neville Road41 m
Turn left to stay on Neville Road.
Neville Road100 m
Turn left onto Bills Lane.
Bills Lane482 m
Turn left onto Burman Road.
Burman Road21 m
Keep left to stay on Burman Road.
Burman Road286 m
Turn right onto Burman Close.
Burman Close112 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Burman Close.
Burman Close112 m
Turn left onto Burman Road.
Burman Road181 m
Turn right onto Loxley Avenue.
Loxley Avenue416 m
Turn right onto Lindridge Road.
Lindridge Road80 m
Keep left to stay on Lindridge Road.
Lindridge Road144 m
Turn right onto Neville Road.
Neville Road222 m
Turn right onto Sansome Road.
Sansome Road315 m
Turn left onto Loxley Avenue.
Loxley Avenue178 m
Turn left onto Burman Road.
Burman Road494 m
Turn left onto Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road455 m
Turn right onto Green Lane.
Green Lane396 m
Move right onto Aqueduct Road.
Aqueduct Road61 m
Keep left to stay on Aqueduct Road.
Aqueduct Road276 m
Turn right onto Colebrook Road.
Colebrook Road782 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Haslucks Green Road.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road62 m
Keep right to stay on Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road722 m
Keep right to stay on Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Tilehouse Lane.
Tilehouse Lane925 m
Keep left to stay on Tilehouse Lane.
Tilehouse Lane889 m
Keep left to take Fulford Hall Road.
Fulford Hall Road160 m
Turn left onto Norton Lane.
Norton Lane479 m
Turn left onto Rumbush Lane.
Rumbush Lane66 m
Keep right to stay on Rumbush Lane.
Rumbush Lane139 m
Keep right to stay on Rumbush Lane.
Rumbush Lane109 m
Keep right to stay on Rumbush Lane.
Rumbush Lane158 m
Keep right to stay on Rumbush Lane.
Rumbush Lane346 m
Keep right to stay on Rumbush Lane.
Rumbush Lane42 m
Turn left onto Cleobury Lane.
Cleobury Lane71 m
Keep straight to stay on Cleobury Lane.
Cleobury Lane272 m
Turn right onto Dickens Heath Road.
Dickens Heath Road38 m
Turn left onto Birchy Leasowes Lane.
Birchy Leasowes Lane587 m
Move right onto Tilehouse Lane.
Tilehouse Lane842 m
Turn left onto Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road794 m
Turn right onto Rowbrook Close.
Rowbrook Close82 m
Turn left to stay on Rowbrook Close.
Rowbrook Close27 m
Turn left to stay on Rowbrook Close.
Rowbrook Close7 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Rowbrook Close.
Rowbrook Close7 m
Turn right to stay on Rowbrook Close.
Rowbrook Close27 m
Turn right to stay on Rowbrook Close.
Rowbrook Close82 m
Turn left onto Peterbrook Road.
Peterbrook Road794 m
Turn right onto Tilehouse Lane.
Tilehouse Lane337 m
Turn left onto Tythe Barn Lane.
Tythe Barn Lane905 m
Turn left to stay on Tythe Barn Lane.
Tythe Barn Lane309 m
Turn left onto Dickens Heath Road.
Dickens Heath Road87 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Dickens Heath Road.
56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dickens Heath Road.
Dickens Heath Road195 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Dickens Heath Road.
23 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dickens Heath Road.
Dickens Heath Road250 m
Turn left to stay on Dickens Heath Road.
Dickens Heath Road147 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Dickens Heath Road.
35 m
Exit the roundabout onto Dickens Heath Road.
Dickens Heath Road363 m
Turn left onto Cleobury Lane.
Cleobury Lane116 m
Keep right to stay on Cleobury Lane.
Cleobury Lane412 m
Keep right to stay on Cleobury Lane.
Cleobury Lane251 m
Keep right to stay on Cleobury Lane.
Cleobury Lane977 m
Turn left onto Lady Lane.
Lady Lane1.2 km
Keep left to stay on Lady Lane.
Lady Lane272 m
Keep right to stay on Lady Lane.
Lady Lane223 m
Keep right to stay on Lady Lane.
Lady Lane174 m
Turn left onto Tanworth Lane/B4102.
Tanworth Lane1.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Tanworth Lane/B4102.
45 m
Exit the roundabout onto Tanworth Lane/B4102.
Tanworth Lane114 m
Turn left to stay on Tanworth Lane.
Tanworth Lane30 m
Turn right to stay on Tanworth Lane.
Tanworth Lane939 m
Turn left onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34421 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A34/Stratford Road.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34358 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Shirley · Route 7 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 1.1 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 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.
Shirley Christadelphian Hall
Start near Shirley Christadelphian Hall.
St James the Great
Continue to St James the Great.
Strawberry Fields
Continue to Strawberry Fields.
Shakespeare Drive
Continue to Shakespeare Drive, taking the junction with good observation.
Sainsbury's Local
Continue to Sainsbury's Local.
Shirley Community Church
Continue to Shirley Community Church.
Station Fish Bar
Continue to Station Fish Bar.
Colebrook News
Continue to Colebrook News.
Drinks Express
Continue to Drinks Express.
Colebrook Inn
Continue to Colebrook Inn.
Feet First Podiatry & Chiropody
Continue to Feet First Podiatry & Chiropody.
Drawbridge
Continue to Drawbridge.
St John the Divine
Continue to St John the Divine.
Whitlocks End
Continue to Whitlocks End.
Tidbury Green Garage
Continue to Tidbury Green Garage.
Red Lion
Continue to Red Lion.
Active Angles
Continue to Active Angles.
Mad Hatters Day Nursery
Continue to Mad Hatters Day Nursery.
KFC
Continue to KFC.
Londis
Finish back near Londis, completing the loop.
7 roundabouts · 8 turns · 2 sets of lights
9 roundabouts · 8 turns · 1 set of lights
4 roundabouts · 17 turns · 1 set of lights
4 roundabouts · 14 turns · 1 set of lights
This route is 26.6 km and takes about 25 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Shirley test centre, not an official DVSA route.