Near Watnall test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 38 roundabouts and 10 turns across 77 navigation steps.
This is an independent 27.3 km practice loop near Watnall test centre, taking roughly 30 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 Giltbrook, Nottingham Road and Rutland Square. 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 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 pubs, shops, named junctions and parks, 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 Watnall 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 77-step drive on real, named roads (about 27.5 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive west.
121 m
Turn left onto Main Road/B600.
Main Road221 m
Turn right onto Stannier Way.
Stannier Way176 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Holly Road.
56 m
Exit the roundabout onto Holly Road.
Holly Road1.2 km
Keep right to take Maws Lane.
Maws Lane82 m
Turn right onto Eastwood Road.
Eastwood Road619 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Nottingham Road/B6010.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Nottingham Road/B6010.
Nottingham Road220 m
Enter Giltbrook and take the 2nd exit onto Gin Close Way/A6096.
Giltbrook135 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gin Close Way/A6096.
Gin Close Way117 m
Keep left to stay on Gin Close Way/A6096.
Gin Close Way357 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Shilo Way/A6096.
68 m
Exit the roundabout onto Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way140 m
Keep right to stay on Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way1.7 km
Keep left to stay on Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way103 m
Keep left to stay on Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way101 m
Keep left to stay on Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way93 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Millership Way/A6096.
70 m
Exit the roundabout onto Millership Way/A6096.
Millership Way531 m
Keep left to stay on Millership Way/A6096.
Millership Way280 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Rutland Street/A6096.
36 m
Exit the roundabout onto Rutland Street/A6096.
Rutland Street299 m
Enter Rutland Square and take the 3rd exit onto Bath Street/A6007.
Rutland Square68 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bath Street/A6007. Continue on A6007.
A60071.0 km
Turn right onto Wardlow Road.
Wardlow Road142 m
Turn right onto Broadway.
Broadway281 m
Turn left onto Heanor Road/A6007.
Heanor Road862 m
Enter Rutland Square and take the 2nd exit onto Rutland Street/A6096.
Rutland Square32 m
Exit the roundabout onto Rutland Street/A6096.
Rutland Street295 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Millership Way/A6096.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Millership Way/A6096.
Millership Way184 m
Keep right to stay on Millership Way/A6096.
Millership Way498 m
Keep left to stay on Millership Way/A6096.
Millership Way129 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Shilo Way/A6096.
15 m
Exit the roundabout onto Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way1.3 km
Keep left to stay on Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way714 m
Keep right to stay on Shilo Way/A6096.
Shilo Way140 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Gin Close Way/A6096.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto Gin Close Way/A6096.
Gin Close Way468 m
Enter Giltbrook and take the 2nd exit.
Giltbrook220 m
Exit the roundabout onto A610.
A6103.2 km
Enter Nuthall Interchange and take the 2nd exit onto A610.
Nuthall Interchange175 m
Exit the roundabout onto A610.
A610613 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A610.
86 m
Exit the roundabout onto A610.
A61018 m
Keep left to take A6002.
A6002508 m
Keep right to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road360 m
Keep straight to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road108 m
Keep left to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road113 m
Keep right to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road282 m
Keep right to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road373 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Camberley Road/A6002.
40 m
Exit the roundabout onto Camberley Road/A6002.
Camberley Road305 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Camberley Road/A6002.
25 m
Exit the roundabout onto Camberley Road/A6002. Continue on A6002.
A60021.2 km
Turn left onto Hucknall Lane/A6002.
Hucknall Lane219 m
Make a sharp left to stay on Hucknall Lane.
Hucknall Lane50 m
Keep straight to stay on Hucknall Lane.
Hucknall Lane54 m
Turn left onto Naomi Crescent.
Naomi Crescent26 m
Turn right onto Hucknall Lane/A6002.
Hucknall Lane119 m
Turn right onto Sandhurst Road/A6002. Continue on A6002.
A60021.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Camberley Road/A6002.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto Camberley Road/A6002.
Camberley Road212 m
Keep left to stay on Camberley Road/A6002.
Camberley Road98 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Low Wood Road/A6002.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road376 m
Keep right to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road338 m
Keep right to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road455 m
Keep left to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road145 m
Keep left to stay on Low Wood Road/A6002.
Low Wood Road413 m
Take the exit on the right.
A61091 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit towards Watnall/B600/Kimberley/Nuthall Village Church.
215 m
Exit the roundabout towards Watnall/B600/Kimberley/Nuthall Village Church.
Nottingham Road880 m
Turn right onto Watnall Road/B600. Continue on B600.
B6001.9 km
Turn right.
121 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Watnall · Dual-carriageway 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.
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.
Pedestrian crossings and parked cars are common nearby.
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.
Royal Oak
Start near Royal Oak.
High Spannia Stores
Continue to High Spannia Stores.
Co-op Food
Continue to Co-op Food.
Miners Return
Continue to Miners Return.
Sue's Unisex Hair Salon
Continue to Sue's Unisex Hair Salon.
Gilt Hill Stores
Continue to Gilt Hill Stores.
Giltbrook
Continue to Giltbrook, taking the junction with good observation.
Nottingham Road
Continue to Nottingham Road, taking the junction with good observation.
Wash Meadows
Continue to Wash Meadows.
Rutland Square
Continue to Rutland Square, taking the junction with good observation.
Granby Junior School
Continue to Granby Junior School.
Rocking Horse Nursery
Continue to Rocking Horse Nursery.
Rutland Cottage
Continue to Rutland Cottage.
Arena Church
Continue to Arena Church.
Alan Kent Motors
Continue to Alan Kent Motors.
Oak Tree Motorhomes
Continue to Oak Tree Motorhomes.
Esso
Continue to Esso.
Three Ponds
Continue to Three Ponds.
M&S Interiors
Continue to M&S Interiors.
Watnall Pre-School
Finish back near Watnall Pre-School, completing the loop.
31 roundabouts · 10 turns
22 roundabouts · 14 turns
24 roundabouts · 21 turns
18 roundabouts · 12 turns
This route is 27.3 km and takes about 30 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Watnall test centre, not an official DVSA route.