Near Yeovil test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 30 roundabouts and 24 turns across 68 navigation steps.
This is an independent 13.0 km practice loop near Yeovil test centre, taking roughly 16 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 Bunford Lane, Preston Road Roundabout and Kingston Roundabout. 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 roundabout approach & exit and 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, named junctions 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 Yeovil 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 68-step drive on real, named roads (about 13.6 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive east.
9 m
Turn left.
52 m
Turn left.
83 m
Turn left onto Abbots Meade.
Abbots Meade101 m
Turn right onto Preston Road.
Preston Road545 m
Enter Preston Road Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Bunford Lane.
Preston Road Roundabout26 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane209 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bunford Lane.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane329 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A3088/Western Relief Road.
40 m
Exit the roundabout onto A3088/Western Relief Road.
A3088561 m
Keep right to stay on A3088.
A3088447 m
Turn right onto Laburnam Way.
Laburnam Way46 m
Turn right onto Laburnum Way.
Laburnum Way193 m
Turn right onto Ashmead.
Ashmead214 m
Turn left onto Laburnum Way.
Laburnum Way53 m
Turn left onto Laburnam Way.
Laburnam Way47 m
Turn left onto Lysander Road/A3088. Continue on Lysander Road.
Lysander Road171 m
Keep left to stay on Lysander Road.
Lysander Road98 m
Move right onto A3088/Western Relief Road.
A3088353 m
Keep left to stay on A3088/Western Relief Road.
A3088147 m
Keep right to stay on A3088/Western Relief Road.
A3088237 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bunford Lane.
46 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane328 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bunford Lane.
52 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane209 m
Enter Preston Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Western Avenue.
Preston Road Roundabout61 m
Exit the roundabout onto Western Avenue.
Western Avenue209 m
Exit the roundabout onto Western Avenue.
Western Avenue238 m
Turn right onto Malmesbury Way.
Malmesbury Way48 m
Keep right to stay on Malmesbury Way.
Malmesbury Way269 m
Turn left onto Westminster.
Westminster50 m
Turn left onto Western Avenue.
Western Avenue470 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Western Avenue.
39 m
Exit the roundabout onto Western Avenue.
Western Avenue166 m
Enter Preston Road Roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bunford Lane.
Preston Road Roundabout60 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane209 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Bunford Lane.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane254 m
Keep right to stay on Bunford Lane.
Bunford Lane74 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A3088/Western Relief Road.
40 m
Exit the roundabout onto A3088/Western Relief Road.
A3088561 m
Keep right to stay on A3088/Western Relief Road.
A30881.3 km
Keep right to take Lysander Road/A3088.
Lysander Road337 m
Move right onto Lysander Road/A3088. Continue on A3088.
A3088501 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Brunswick Street.
40 m
Exit the roundabout onto Brunswick Street.
Brunswick Street60 m
Turn left onto Hendford.
Hendford307 m
Turn right to stay on Manor Road.
Manor Road63 m
Turn left onto West Hendford.
West Hendford11 m
Turn right onto The Crescent.
The Crescent7 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on The Crescent.
The Crescent7 m
Turn left onto West Hendford.
West Hendford11 m
Turn right onto Manor Road.
Manor Road63 m
Turn left to stay on Manor Road.
Manor Road101 m
Turn right onto Hendford.
Hendford58 m
Keep right to stay on Hendford.
Hendford107 m
Keep right to stay on Hendford.
Hendford37 m
Turn right onto Brunswick Street.
Brunswick Street75 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A30/Queensway.
67 m
Exit the roundabout onto A30/Queensway.
A30858 m
Enter Kingston Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A37/Kingston.
Kingston Roundabout11 m
Exit the roundabout onto A37/Kingston.
A37293 m
Enter Fiveways Roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Preston Road.
Fiveways Roundabout17 m
Exit the roundabout onto Preston Road.
Preston Road1.7 km
Turn right.
68 m
Turn left.
9 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the Yeovil · 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.
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.
Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.
Frequent stop-start traffic and pedestrians, keep your speed down.
Roundabout
Watch your lane discipline and signalling at Preston Road Roundabout, Kingston Roundabout. Get into the correct lane early and check your exit mirror before leaving.
Navigate by these 20 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
St James
Start near St James.
Purple Hire Solutions
Continue to Purple Hire Solutions.
Holeshot Kawasaki Yeovil
Continue to Holeshot Kawasaki Yeovil.
Bathwick Tyres
Continue to Bathwick Tyres.
Wickes
Continue to Wickes.
Bunford Lane
Continue to Bunford Lane, taking the junction with good observation.
Preston Road Roundabout
Continue to Preston Road Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Hobbycraft
Continue to Hobbycraft.
Audi Yeovil
Continue to Audi Yeovil.
Topps Tiles
Continue to Topps Tiles.
Mortimers
Continue to Mortimers.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Continue to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
B&M
Continue to B&M.
Coopers Mill
Continue to Coopers Mill.
Kingston Roundabout
Continue to Kingston Roundabout, taking the junction with good observation.
Park School Sixth Form
Continue to Park School Sixth Form.
Mace
Continue to Mace.
Shield Batteries Yeovil
Continue to Shield Batteries Yeovil.
Bell Inn
Finish back near Bell Inn, completing the loop.
22 roundabouts · 16 turns
22 roundabouts · 6 turns
38 roundabouts · 14 turns
12 roundabouts · 14 turns
This route is 13.0 km and takes about 16 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near Yeovil test centre, not an official DVSA route.