Near Wick test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 4 roundabouts and 26 turns across 35 navigation steps.
This is an independent 8.9 km practice loop near Wick test centre, taking roughly 15 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 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 Wick 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 35-step drive on real, named roads (about 9.1 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive northwest.
47 m
Turn left.
245 m
Turn right.
190 m
Turn left onto North Road/A99. Continue on A99.
A99661 m
Turn left onto Church Street/C1041.
Church Street46 m
Turn right onto Louisburgh Street/C1041.
Louisburgh Street299 m
Turn left to stay on Louisburgh Street/C1041.
Louisburgh Street63 m
Turn right onto Willowbank/C1041.
Willowbank603 m
Turn right onto Sandigoe Drive.
Sandigoe Drive136 m
Turn right onto Port Dunbar.
Port Dunbar130 m
Turn right onto Scalesburn.
Scalesburn130 m
Turn right onto Willowbank/C1041.
Willowbank628 m
Turn left onto Louisburgh Street/C1041.
Louisburgh Street63 m
Turn right to stay on Louisburgh Street/C1041.
Louisburgh Street300 m
Turn left onto Church Street/C1041.
Church Street47 m
Turn left onto A99.
A99235 m
Turn right onto Bridge Street/A99.
Bridge Street203 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Cliff Road/A99.
20 m
Exit the roundabout onto Cliff Road/A99. Continue on A99.
A991.3 km
Turn right onto Northcote Street/C1073.
Northcote Street365 m
Turn left onto Macrae Street/C1073.
Macrae Street267 m
Turn right onto Grant Street/C1073. Continue on Grant Street.
Grant Street174 m
Turn left onto Huddart Street.
Huddart Street28 m
Turn right onto Royal Place.
Royal Place74 m
Turn left onto Vansittart Street.
Vansittart Street35 m
Turn left onto Bexley Terrace.
Bexley Terrace233 m
Turn right onto Harbour Terrace/C1073.
Harbour Terrace156 m
Turn left onto Harbour Road/B9159. Continue on B9159.
B9159760 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Bridge Street/A99.
28 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bridge Street/A99.
Bridge Street202 m
Turn left to stay on A99.
A99896 m
Turn right.
190 m
Turn left.
245 m
Turn right.
47 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Wick · 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.
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.
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.
Caithness Building Supplies
Start near Caithness Building Supplies.
St. Fergus Church
Continue to St. Fergus Church.
HMS Jervis Bay Memorial
Continue to HMS Jervis Bay Memorial.
Kitchen Place
Continue to Kitchen Place.
Lucky 888
Continue to Lucky 888.
Harpers
Continue to Harpers.
Highland Hospice
Continue to Highland Hospice.
Francis Street Club
Continue to Francis Street Club.
RG MacDonald - The Home Bakery
Continue to RG MacDonald - The Home Bakery.
Seafarers' Memorial
Continue to Seafarers' Memorial.
Mountain Dew Bar
Continue to Mountain Dew Bar.
L.S. Lowry Commemorative Tablet
Continue to L.S. Lowry Commemorative Tablet.
Old Fog Cannon
Continue to Old Fog Cannon.
Harbour Chip Shop
Continue to Harbour Chip Shop.
Harbour Mission
Continue to Harbour Mission.
Bin Ends
Continue to Bin Ends.
Driftwood @ W & A Geddes
Continue to Driftwood @ W & A Geddes.
Wick Fish and Chicken Bar Curry House
Continue to Wick Fish and Chicken Bar Curry House.
Wick Fish & Chicken Bar Curry House
Continue to Wick Fish & Chicken Bar Curry House.
Notions
Finish back near Notions, completing the loop.
4 roundabouts · 22 turns
4 roundabouts · 16 turns
8 turns
This route is 8.9 km and takes about 15 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Wick test centre, not an official DVSA route.