Near Southall test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 12 roundabouts and 14 turns across 53 navigation steps.
This is an independent 19.0 km practice loop near Southall test centre, taking roughly 28 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.
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, churches, parks 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 Southall 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 53-step drive on real, named roads (about 21.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south on Allenby Road.
Allenby Road75 m
Turn left onto Mornington Road.
Mornington Road558 m
Turn right onto Ruislip Road/B455. Continue on B455.
B455434 m
Keep right to take The Broadway/B455.
The Broadway129 m
Keep right to stay on The Broadway/B455.
The Broadway37 m
Turn left onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road1.0 km
Enter Greenford Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Western Avenue/A40.
Greenford Roundabout23 m
Exit the roundabout onto Western Avenue/A40.
Western Avenue118 m
Stay straight to take the A40 ramp.
A401.7 km
Keep left to stay on A40/Western Avenue.
A40109 m
Take the Target Roundabout exit towards Heathrow Airport,Hayes,Southall,Yeading,A312.
A40345 m
Enter Target Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A312.
Target Roundabout184 m
Exit the roundabout onto A312.
A312751 m
Turn right onto Ealing Road.
Ealing Road200 m
Turn left onto Court Farm Road.
Court Farm Road286 m
Turn left onto Summit Road.
Summit Road111 m
Turn left onto Sandringham Road.
Sandringham Road278 m
Turn left onto Belvue Road.
Belvue Road75 m
Turn right onto Ealing Road.
Ealing Road32 m
Turn left onto Mandeville Road/A312. Continue on A312.
A312482 m
Keep left to stay on A312.
A312258 m
Enter Target Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A40/Western Avenue.
Target Roundabout5 m
Exit the roundabout onto A40/Western Avenue.
A40151 m
Keep right to stay on A40/Western Avenue.
A401.7 km
Take the exit.
A40156 m
Keep right to stay on A40/Western Avenue.
A4095 m
Keep right to take A40/Western Avenue.
A40128 m
Enter Greenford Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Roundabout153 m
Exit the roundabout onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road165 m
Keep right to stay on Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road606 m
Keep right to stay on Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road245 m
Turn left onto Ruislip Road East/B455.
Ruislip Road East686 m
Turn right onto Greenford Avenue.
Greenford Avenue453 m
Keep right to stay on Greenford Avenue.
Greenford Avenue1.3 km
Turn right onto York Avenue.
York Avenue314 m
Turn right onto Station Road.
Station Road71 m
Turn right onto Golden Manor.
Golden Manor83 m
Turn right onto Campbell Road.
Campbell Road127 m
Turn right to stay on Campbell Road.
Campbell Road30 m
Turn left to stay on Campbell Road.
Campbell Road130 m
Turn right onto Greenford Avenue.
Greenford Avenue1.9 km
Turn left onto Ruislip Road East/B455.
Ruislip Road East249 m
Keep right to stay on Ruislip Road East/B455.
Ruislip Road East1.4 km
Enter Greenford Roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Roundabout109 m
Exit the roundabout onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road923 m
Make a sharp right to stay on Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road919 m
Enter Greenford Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Roundabout93 m
Exit the roundabout onto Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road772 m
Keep right to stay on Greenford Road/A4127.
Greenford Road245 m
Turn right onto The Broadway/B455. Continue on B455.
B455601 m
Turn left onto Mornington Road.
Mornington Road558 m
Turn right onto Allenby Road.
Allenby Road75 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Southall · Residential 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.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
Useful navigation anchors on the loop.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
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.
Greenford Hair & Beauty
Start near Greenford Hair & Beauty.
Greenford Methodist Church
Continue to Greenford Methodist Church.
Kudos Contract Furniture
Continue to Kudos Contract Furniture.
Smoke & Watch
Continue to Smoke & Watch.
Salvation Army - Greenford
Continue to Salvation Army - Greenford.
Greenford Lagoons
Continue to Greenford Lagoons.
Northolt Methodist Church
Continue to Northolt Methodist Church.
St Bernard's Catholic church
Continue to St Bernard's Catholic church.
Northolt Station
Continue to Northolt Station.
Eskdale Open space
Continue to Eskdale Open space.
Dunelm
Continue to Dunelm.
Shurgard Self-Storage
Continue to Shurgard Self-Storage.
Harvey & Jacob Motors
Continue to Harvey & Jacob Motors.
Golden Barbers
Continue to Golden Barbers.
Lidl
Continue to Lidl.
Drayton Manor High School PTA car boot
Continue to Drayton Manor High School PTA car boot.
Hanwell Seventh Day Adventist Church
Continue to Hanwell Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Hanwell
Continue to Hanwell.
Pan's Cake Shop
Continue to Pan's Cake Shop.
Iceland
Finish back near Iceland, completing the loop.
14 roundabouts · 29 turns
36 roundabouts · 11 turns
18 roundabouts · 4 turns
12 roundabouts · 24 turns
This route is 19.0 km and takes about 28 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Southall test centre, not an official DVSA route.