Near York test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 27 roundabouts and 6 turns across 44 navigation steps.
This is an independent 15.6 km practice loop near York test centre, taking roughly 12 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 13 catalogued landmarks, including shops and schools, 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 York 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 44-step drive on real, named roads (about 15.4 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
209 m
Turn left.
15 m
Turn right.
54 m
Turn right.
48 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Monks Cross Drive.
18 m
Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Drive.
Monks Cross Drive341 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Monks Cross Link.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Link.
Monks Cross Link86 m
Keep straight to stay on Monks Cross Link.
Monks Cross Link997 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
26 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road.
A12371.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards A1237/Thirsk/Harrogate.
35 m
Exit the roundabout towards A1237/Thirsk/Harrogate.
A12371.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
30 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road. Continue on A1237.
A12371.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
83 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road. Continue on A1237.
A1237714 m
Keep left to take A1237/Ring Road.
A1237136 m
Keep left to stay on A1237/Ring Road.
A1237263 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
53 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road.
A123729 m
Keep right to stay on A1237/Ring Road.
A12372.1 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
41 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road.
A123714 m
Keep right to stay on A1237/Ring Road.
A1237258 m
Keep right to stay on A1237/Ring Road.
A1237136 m
Keep right to stay on A1237.
A1237714 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit.
76 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road. Continue on A1237.
A12371.3 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
29 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road.
A12371.2 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit towards A1237/Scarborough/Hull.
35 m
Exit the roundabout towards A1237/Scarborough/Hull.
A12371.0 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Monks Cross Link.
85 m
Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Link.
Monks Cross Link1.0 km
Keep right to stay on Monks Cross Link.
Monks Cross Link81 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Monks Cross Drive.
101 m
Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Drive.
Monks Cross Drive338 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit.
70 m
Exit the roundabout.
46 m
Turn left.
54 m
Turn left.
15 m
Turn left.
76 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the York · 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.
Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.
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 13 catalogued landmarks rather than a memorised turn list, an indicative loop, not an official DVSA route.
Barnardo's
Start near Barnardo's.
Go Store Self Storage
Continue to Go Store Self Storage.
Herbert Todd & Son
Continue to Herbert Todd & Son.
Hobbycraft
Continue to Hobbycraft.
McDonald's
Continue to McDonald's.
Taco Bell
Continue to Taco Bell.
KFC
Continue to KFC.
Busy Bees
Continue to Busy Bees.
DFS
Continue to DFS.
Greggs
Continue to Greggs.
Huntington Fire Station
Continue to Huntington Fire Station.
New Look
Continue to New Look.
River Island
Finish back near River Island, completing the loop.
40 roundabouts · 6 turns
24 roundabouts · 26 turns
20 roundabouts · 24 turns
18 roundabouts · 19 turns
This route is 15.6 km and takes about 12 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near York test centre, not an official DVSA route.