Near Southport test centre
Rated challenging from its real manoeuvre load, 8 roundabouts and 16 turns across 40 navigation steps.
This is an independent 12.9 km practice loop near Southport test centre, taking roughly 18 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. 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, shops, schools 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 Southport 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 40-step drive on real, named roads (about 14.3 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive southwest.
46 m
Turn left.
50 m
Turn left onto Part Street.
Part Street78 m
Turn right onto A570/Eastbank Street.
A57078 m
Keep left to stay on A570/Eastbank Street.
A570202 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A570/Scarisbrick New Road.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto A570/Scarisbrick New Road.
A570546 m
Turn left onto Ash Street/A5267. Continue on A5267.
A52671.1 km
Turn left onto Hartwood Road/A5267.
Hartwood Road286 m
Turn right onto Roe Lane/A5267.
Roe Lane511 m
Turn right onto Norwood Avenue/B5276.
Norwood Avenue139 m
Turn right onto Norwood Crescent.
Norwood Crescent277 m
Turn right.
76 m
Make a right U-turn.
76 m
Turn left onto Norwood Crescent.
Norwood Crescent277 m
Turn left onto Norwood Avenue/B5276.
Norwood Avenue139 m
Turn left onto Roe Lane/A5267.
Roe Lane1.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A565/Lord Street.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto A565/Lord Street.
A5651.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A565/Lord Street West.
19 m
Exit the roundabout onto A565/Lord Street West.
A565147 m
Keep left to stay on A565.
A5652.4 km
Move left onto Cromer Road.
Cromer Road305 m
Turn left onto Trafalgar Road.
Trafalgar Road221 m
Turn left to stay on Trafalgar Road.
Trafalgar Road56 m
Turn left onto Greenbank Drive.
Greenbank Drive103 m
Turn left onto A565/Waterloo Road.
A565208 m
Move left onto Cromer Road.
Cromer Road305 m
Turn left onto Trafalgar Road.
Trafalgar Road221 m
Turn left to stay on Trafalgar Road.
Trafalgar Road56 m
Turn left onto Greenbank Drive.
Greenbank Drive103 m
Turn right onto A565/Waterloo Road.
A5651.5 km
Keep right to stay on A565.
A565848 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A565/Lord Street.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto A565/Lord Street.
A565224 m
Keep right to stay on A565/Lord Street.
A565268 m
Turn right onto A570/Eastbank Street.
A570454 m
Turn right onto Part Street.
Part Street78 m
Turn right.
122 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Southport · School-zone 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.
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.
Baptist Church
Start near Baptist Church.
St Philip and St Paul with Wesley
Continue to St Philip and St Paul with Wesley.
Abbie's Kitchen
Continue to Abbie's Kitchen.
Southport Computer Centre
Continue to Southport Computer Centre.
St Luke's Parish Church
Continue to St Luke's Parish Church.
Holy Family Catholic Primary School
Continue to Holy Family Catholic Primary School.
Yarrow House
Continue to Yarrow House.
Cock and Rabbit
Continue to Cock and Rabbit.
Holy Trinity
Continue to Holy Trinity.
LORD ST/LEICESTER ST/STOP GA
Continue to LORD ST/LEICESTER ST/STOP GA.
LORD ST/UNION ST/STOP GB
Continue to LORD ST/UNION ST/STOP GB.
Maloney's Bar
Continue to Maloney's Bar.
Lord St/Duke St (Stop AA)
Continue to Lord St/Duke St (Stop AA).
Lord St/Duke St (Stop AB)
Continue to Lord St/Duke St (Stop AB).
Lord Street West United Church
Continue to Lord Street West United Church.
St James
Continue to St James.
Boulevard West
Continue to Boulevard West.
Sir Henry Segrave
Continue to Sir Henry Segrave.
Old Ship
Continue to Old Ship.
Southport Carpet Centre
Finish back near Southport Carpet Centre, completing the loop.
18 roundabouts · 12 turns
10 roundabouts · 13 turns
14 roundabouts · 13 turns
12 roundabouts · 16 turns
This route is 12.9 km and takes about 18 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Southport test centre, not an official DVSA route.