Near Shirley test centre
Rated moderate from its real manoeuvre load, 6 roundabouts and 18 turns across 26 navigation steps.
This is an independent 31.7 km practice route near Shirley test centre, taking roughly 35 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, 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 pubs, churches, shops and schools, 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 110-step drive on real, named roads (about 31.6 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 3rd exit onto Union Road.
54 m
Exit the roundabout onto Union Road.
Union Road620 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Union Road.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Union Road.
Union Road623 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto School Road.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto School Road.
School Road259 m
Turn left onto Bills Lane.
Bills Lane104 m
Keep left to stay on Bills Lane.
Bills Lane983 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 Lane631 m
Keep left to stay on Bills Lane.
Bills Lane129 m
Keep right to stay on Bills Lane.
Bills Lane223 m
Keep right to stay on Bills Lane.
Bills Lane55 m
Turn left onto Shirley Park Road.
Shirley Park Road47 m
Keep left to stay on Shirley Park Road.
Shirley Park Road326 m
Turn left onto Grenville Road.
Grenville Road197 m
Turn right onto Hurdis Road.
Hurdis Road214 m
Turn left onto Middleton Road.
Middleton Road325 m
Turn left onto Velsheda Road.
Velsheda Road82 m
Turn right to stay on Velsheda Road.
Velsheda Road200 m
Move right to stay on Velsheda Road.
Velsheda Road88 m
Turn left to stay on Velsheda Road.
Velsheda Road46 m
Keep left to stay on Velsheda Road.
Velsheda Road58 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Haslucks Green Road.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road62 m
Keep right to stay on Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road606 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 2nd exit onto Haslucks Green Road.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road543 m
Keep left to stay on Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road22 m
Turn left onto Newborough Road.
Newborough Road665 m
Turn right onto Skelcher Road.
Skelcher Road451 m
Turn right onto Newborough Road.
Newborough Road453 m
Turn right onto Blythsford Road.
Blythsford Road114 m
Turn right onto Skelcher Road.
Skelcher Road109 m
Turn left onto Sandy Hill Road.
Sandy Hill Road129 m
Keep left to stay on Sandy Hill Road.
Sandy Hill Road133 m
Keep left to stay on Sandy Hill Road.
Sandy Hill Road438 m
Turn left onto A34/Stratford Road.
A3469 m
Take the exit on the right.
57 m
Turn right to take the ramp.
5 m
Turn right onto A34/Stratford Road.
A341.3 km
Make a right U-turn to stay on A34/Stratford Road.
A341.7 km
Enter Robin Hood Island and take the 2nd exit onto Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Island53 m
Exit the roundabout onto Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane566 m
Keep right to stay on Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane290 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Robin Hood Lane.
95 m
Exit the roundabout onto Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane116 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane138 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Highfield Road.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Highfield Road.
Highfield Road11 m
Keep right to stay on Highfield Road.
Highfield Road203 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Highfield Road.
Highfield Road237 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Robin Hood Lane.
65 m
Exit the roundabout onto Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane261 m
Turn left to stay on Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane20 m
Keep right to stay on Robin Hood Lane.
Robin Hood Lane545 m
Enter Robin Hood Island and take the 4th exit onto A34/Stratford Road.
Robin Hood Island141 m
Exit the roundabout onto A34/Stratford Road.
A341.8 km
Turn right onto Church Road.
Church Road224 m
Turn left onto School Road.
School Road123 m
Keep right to stay on School Road.
School Road101 m
Keep right to stay on School Road.
School Road8 m
Turn left onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34239 m
Turn left onto Church Road.
Church Road328 m
Keep left to take Bills Lane.
Bills Lane502 m
Turn right onto Burman Road.
Burman Road620 m
Turn right onto Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road214 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Colebrook Road.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto Colebrook Road.
Colebrook Road661 m
Turn right onto Priory Road.
Priory Road55 m
Keep left to stay on Priory Road.
Priory Road1.0 km
Turn left onto Ravenshill Road.
Ravenshill Road326 m
Turn left onto The Centreway.
The Centreway153 m
Turn left to stay on The Centreway.
The Centreway56 m
Turn left onto Greenaleigh Road.
Greenaleigh Road206 m
Turn right onto Ravenshill Road.
Ravenshill Road270 m
Turn right onto Priory Road.
Priory Road1.1 km
Turn left 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 Road130 m
Keep right to stay on Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road725 m
Keep left to stay on Haslucks Green Road.
Haslucks Green Road28 m
Turn left onto Bills Lane.
Bills Lane486 m
Turn left to stay on Bills Lane.
Bills Lane664 m
Turn left onto Burman Road.
Burman Road21 m
Keep left to stay on Burman Road.
Burman Road398 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Burman Close.
Burman Close112 m
Turn left onto Burman Road.
Burman Road308 m
Turn right onto Bills Lane.
Bills Lane482 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 Lane522 m
Turn right onto Shakespeare Drive.
Shakespeare Drive425 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Shakespeare Drive.
84 m
Exit the roundabout onto Shakespeare Drive.
Shakespeare Drive179 m
Keep right to stay on Shakespeare Drive.
Shakespeare Drive256 m
Turn left onto A34/Stratford Road.
A34380 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 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.
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 6.1 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.
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.
Woodmans Rest
Start near Woodmans Rest.
Shirley Christadelphian Hall
Continue to Shirley Christadelphian Hall.
Shirley Community Church
Continue to Shirley Community Church.
Drinks Express
Continue to Drinks Express.
Busy Little Bees Nursery
Continue to Busy Little Bees Nursery.
Colebrook Inn
Continue to Colebrook Inn.
Honeypot House
Continue to Honeypot House.
Shirley Methodist Church
Continue to Shirley Methodist Church.
Rosslyn School
Continue to Rosslyn School.
Shirley Baptist Church
Continue to Shirley Baptist Church.
Little Robins Day Nursery
Continue to Little Robins Day Nursery.
Busy Little Bees
Continue to Busy Little Bees.
St James the Great
Continue to St James the Great.
Strawberry Fields
Continue to Strawberry Fields.
Michaels General Store
Continue to Michaels General Store.
Haven Church
Continue to Haven Church.
Yardley Wood Full Gospel Church
Continue to Yardley Wood Full Gospel Church.
Mad Hatters Day Nursery
Continue to Mad Hatters Day Nursery.
Shakespeare Drive
Continue to Shakespeare Drive, taking the junction with good observation.
Caspian Pizza
Finish back near Caspian Pizza, 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 31.7 km and takes about 35 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Shirley test centre, not an official DVSA route.