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Practice route
ModerateLoop

Upton · Residential + A-road practice loop

Near Upton test centre

23.3 km
Distance
23 min
Duration
Moderate
Difficulty
50
Manoeuvres
Difficulty: Demanding

Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 20 roundabouts and 18 turns across 61 navigation steps.

How this route is examined

This is an independent 23.3 km practice loop near Upton test centre, taking roughly 23 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 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 Upton 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.

Manoeuvre breakdown

What you’ll actually do on this loop, counted from its turn-by-turn directions.

18
Left turns
0
Right turns
20
Roundabouts
0
Traffic lights
61
Total steps

Skills & features

20
Landmarks

This route helps you practise:

  • Independent driving
  • Sustained concentration

Turn-by-turn directions

The full 61-step drive on real, named roads (about 23.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.

  1. Depart:

    Drive west.

    17 m

  2. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Arrowe Park Road/A551.

    Arrowe Park Road70 m

  3. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Upton Bypass/A5027.

    24 m

  4. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Upton Bypass/A5027. Continue on Upton Bypass.

    Upton Bypass539 m

  5. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Upton Bypass.

    63 m

  6. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Upton Bypass.

    Upton Bypass153 m

  7. Keep right:

    Keep right to take Upton Bypass/A5027.

    Upton Bypass115 m

  8. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on Upton Bypass/A5027.

    Upton Bypass316 m

  9. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Saughall Massie Road/B5192.

    Saughall Massie Road595 m

  10. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Kingfisher Way.

    Kingfisher Way245 m

  11. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Kestrel Avenue.

    Kestrel Avenue144 m

  12. U-turn:

    Make a right U-turn to stay on Kestrel Close.

    Kestrel Close93 m

  13. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Kestrel Avenue.

    Kestrel Avenue51 m

  14. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Kingfisher Way.

    Kingfisher Way245 m

  15. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Saughall Massie Road/B5192.

    Saughall Massie Road540 m

  16. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Upton Bypass/A5027.

    Upton Bypass685 m

  17. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit towards M53/Wallasey/Liverpool.

    48 m

  18. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout towards M53/Wallasey/Liverpool.

    M531.2 km

  19. Take exit:

    Take exit 2 onto M53 North towards All Docks/Wallasey/Liverpool.

    M53134 m

  20. Turn right:

    Take exit 2 on the right onto M53 North towards All Docks/Wallasey/Liverpool.

    M531.6 km

  21. Take exit:

    Take exit 1.

    276 m

  22. Take exit:

    Take exit 1.

    130 m

  23. Turn right:

    Take exit 1 on the right.

    70 m

  24. Roundabout:

    Enter Bidston Island and take the 3rd exit onto A5139.

    Bidston Island183 m

  25. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto A5139.

    A5139803 m

  26. Keep left:

    Keep left to stay on A5139.

    A5139844 m

  27. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A5139/Dock Road.

    34 m

  28. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto A5139/Dock Road.

    A513913 m

  29. Keep left:

    Keep left to stay on A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139132 m

  30. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139319 m

  31. Keep left:

    Keep left to stay on A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139837 m

  32. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Duke Street/A5027.

    Duke Street439 m

  33. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Duke Street/A5027.

    54 m

  34. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Duke Street/A5027.

    Duke Street395 m

  35. Turn left:

    Turn left onto A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139852 m

  36. Keep left:

    Keep straight to stay on A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139133 m

  37. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139186 m

  38. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on A5139/Dock Road.

    A5139145 m

  39. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A5139.

    63 m

  40. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto A5139.

    A51391.1 km

  41. Turn right:

    Take the M53 ramp on the right.

    M531.8 km

  42. Take exit:

    Take exit 2 onto A551 towards Hoylake/West Kirby.

    M532.4 km

  43. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit towards A551/A5027/B5138.

    36 m

  44. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout towards A551/A5027/B5138.

    Upton Bypass176 m

  45. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on Upton Bypass/A5027.

    Upton Bypass102 m

  46. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on Upton Bypass/A5027.

    Upton Bypass956 m

  47. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Greasby Road/B5139.

    115 m

  48. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Greasby Road/B5139.

    Greasby Road48 m

  49. Keep right:

    Keep right to stay on B5139.

    B5139967 m

  50. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Greasby Road.

    Greasby Road32 m

  51. Turn right:

    Turn right to stay on Greasby Road.

    Greasby Road159 m

  52. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Arrowe Road.

    Arrowe Road369 m

  53. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Rigby Drive.

    Rigby Drive146 m

  54. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Dodd Avenue.

    Dodd Avenue183 m

  55. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Howell Drive.

    Howell Drive72 m

  56. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Lloyd Drive.

    Lloyd Drive199 m

  57. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Rigby Drive.

    Rigby Drive73 m

  58. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Arrowe Road.

    Arrowe Road1.3 km

  59. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Arrowe Park Road/A551.

    Arrowe Park Road456 m

  60. Turn right:

    Turn right.

    17 m

  61. Arrive:

    You have arrived at your destination.

Directions for the Upton · Residential + A-road practice loop loop. Always drive to the road and conditions you see, not the list — signs, signals and other traffic take priority.

Local roads & landmarks

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.

Churches

Useful navigation anchors on the loop.

  • St. Mary's Upton - The Centre
  • St Nicholas

Pubs

Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.

  • Willows
  • Poulton Victoria Sports and Social Club
  • Gravesberie Inn

Shops & parades

Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.

  • Beauty & Nails
  • Zinga
  • Saughall Convenience Store
  • Johnsons Toyota (Wirral)

Watch out for

  • 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.

Drive it: landmark by landmark

Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.

  1. Upton Police Station

    Start near Upton Police Station.

  2. Beauty & Nails

    Continue to Beauty & Nails.

  3. St. Mary's Upton - The Centre

    Continue to St. Mary's Upton - The Centre.

  4. Zinga

    Continue to Zinga.

  5. Willows

    Continue to Willows.

  6. Saughall Convenience Store

    Continue to Saughall Convenience Store.

  7. Johnsons Toyota (Wirral)

    Continue to Johnsons Toyota (Wirral).

  8. Poulton Victoria Sports and Social Club

    Continue to Poulton Victoria Sports and Social Club.

  9. Gravesberie Inn

    Continue to Gravesberie Inn.

  10. Premier

    Continue to Premier.

  11. Spar

    Continue to Spar.

  12. St Nicholas

    Continue to St Nicholas.

  13. Bargain Booze

    Continue to Bargain Booze.

  14. Greasby Barbers

    Continue to Greasby Barbers.

  15. Tropical Tanning Studio

    Continue to Tropical Tanning Studio.

  16. Bei Capelli

    Continue to Bei Capelli.

  17. Farm View Motors

    Continue to Farm View Motors.

  18. GoLocalExtra

    Continue to GoLocalExtra.

  19. SM Motors

    Continue to SM Motors.

  20. Arrowebrook Motors

    Finish back near Arrowebrook Motors, completing the loop.

More routes at Upton test centre

Route FAQs

This route is 23.3 km and takes about 23 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Upton test centre, not an official DVSA route.