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Practice route
ModerateLoop

York · Residential + A-road practice loop

Near York test centre

12.1 km
Distance
16 min
Duration
Moderate
Difficulty
47
Manoeuvres
Difficulty: Demanding

Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 18 roundabouts and 19 turns across 47 navigation steps.

How this route is examined

This is an independent 12.1 km practice loop near York 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.

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, pubs 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.

Manoeuvre breakdown

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

19
Left turns
0
Right turns
18
Roundabouts
0
Traffic lights
47
Total steps

Skills & features

20
Landmarks

This route helps you practise:

  • Independent driving

Turn-by-turn directions

The full 47-step drive on real, named roads (about 12.2 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.

  1. Depart:

    Drive south.

    212 m

  2. Turn left:

    Turn left.

    15 m

  3. Turn right:

    Turn right.

    54 m

  4. Turn right:

    Turn right.

    48 m

  5. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Monks Cross Drive.

    75 m

  6. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Drive.

    Monks Cross Drive344 m

  7. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Jockey Lane.

    38 m

  8. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Jockey Lane.

    Jockey Lane736 m

  9. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Malton Road/A1036.

    71 m

  10. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Malton Road/A1036.

    Malton Road977 m

  11. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Straylands Grove.

    Straylands Grove310 m

  12. Turn right:

    Turn right to stay on Straylands Grove.

    Straylands Grove12 m

  13. Turn right:

    Move right onto Woodlands Grove.

    Woodlands Grove412 m

  14. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Stockton Lane.

    Stockton Lane398 m

  15. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Greenfield Park Drive.

    Greenfield Park Drive449 m

  16. Turn right:

    Turn right to stay on Greenfield Park Drive.

    Greenfield Park Drive38 m

  17. Turn right:

    Turn right.

    23 m

  18. U-turn:

    Make a right U-turn.

    23 m

  19. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Greenfield Park Drive.

    Greenfield Park Drive38 m

  20. Turn left:

    Turn left to stay on Greenfield Park Drive.

    Greenfield Park Drive210 m

  21. Turn right:

    Move right to stay on Greenfield Park Drive.

    Greenfield Park Drive239 m

  22. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Stockton Lane.

    Stockton Lane1.1 km

  23. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Heworth Green/A1036.

    25 m

  24. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Heworth Green/A1036. Continue on A1036.

    A1036764 m

  25. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A1036.

    4 m

  26. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto A1036.

    A1036394 m

  27. Turn left:

    Move left onto Foss Bank/A1036.

    Foss Bank50 m

  28. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Peasholme Green.

    Peasholme Green76 m

  29. Turn right:

    Make a sharp right to stay on Peasholme Green.

    Peasholme Green318 m

  30. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Eboracum Way.

    Eboracum Way281 m

  31. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Heworth Green/A1036.

    Heworth Green628 m

  32. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Stockton Lane.

    30 m

  33. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Stockton Lane.

    Stockton Lane732 m

  34. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Woodlands Grove.

    Woodlands Grove135 m

  35. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Westlands Grove.

    Westlands Grove387 m

  36. Turn left:

    Turn left onto Straylands Grove.

    Straylands Grove153 m

  37. Turn right:

    Turn right onto Malton Road/A1036.

    Malton Road970 m

  38. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 2nd exit onto Jockey Lane.

    57 m

  39. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Jockey Lane.

    Jockey Lane716 m

  40. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Monks Cross Drive.

    103 m

  41. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Drive.

    Monks Cross Drive345 m

  42. Roundabout:

    Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit.

    19 m

  43. Leave roundabout:

    Exit the roundabout.

    46 m

  44. Turn left:

    Turn left.

    54 m

  45. Turn left:

    Turn left.

    15 m

  46. Turn left:

    Turn left.

    72 m

  47. Arrive:

    You have arrived at your destination.

Directions for the York · 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.

Schools

Watch for 20 mph zones, crossings and children near these.

  • Busy Bees York Heworth

Pubs

Easy landmarks to navigate the loop by.

  • Heworth Inn
  • Brigadier Gerard

Shops & parades

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

  • New Look
  • Decathlon
  • Regatta Great Outdoors
  • Sainsbury's

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. New Look

    Start near New Look.

  2. Decathlon

    Continue to Decathlon.

  3. Regatta Great Outdoors

    Continue to Regatta Great Outdoors.

  4. Sainsbury's

    Continue to Sainsbury's.

  5. WeBuyAnyCar

    Continue to WeBuyAnyCar.

  6. JG

    Continue to JG.

  7. York Autobody Shop

    Continue to York Autobody Shop.

  8. Wilco Motorsave

    Continue to Wilco Motorsave.

  9. Wilco Motosave

    Continue to Wilco Motosave.

  10. Heworth Inn

    Continue to Heworth Inn.

  11. Busy Bees York Heworth

    Continue to Busy Bees York Heworth.

  12. Brigadier Gerard

    Continue to Brigadier Gerard.

  13. Zam Zam

    Continue to Zam Zam.

  14. Burrows Mazda

    Continue to Burrows Mazda.

  15. SFC

    Continue to SFC.

  16. St Leonards Hospice Shop

    Continue to St Leonards Hospice Shop.

  17. YMF Car Parts

    Continue to YMF Car Parts.

  18. Just to Say

    Continue to Just to Say.

  19. Hammond's Furniture Store

    Continue to Hammond's Furniture Store.

  20. Magnet

    Finish back near Magnet, completing the loop.

More routes at York test centre

Route FAQs

This route is 12.1 km and takes about 16 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near York test centre, not an official DVSA route.