Near York test centre
Rated demanding from its real manoeuvre load, 20 roundabouts and 24 turns across 51 navigation steps.
This is an independent 14.5 km practice loop near York test centre, taking roughly 18 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 20 catalogued landmarks, including shops, stations, pubs and churches, 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 51-step drive on real, named roads (about 14.5 km). An indicative practice loop, not an official DVSA route — the roads and junctions are real, the sequence is a rehearsal.
Drive south.
212 m
Turn left.
15 m
Turn right.
54 m
Turn right.
48 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Monks Cross Drive.
75 m
Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Drive.
Monks Cross Drive344 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 4th exit onto Jockey Lane.
114 m
Exit the roundabout onto Jockey Lane.
Jockey Lane802 m
Turn right onto New Lane.
New Lane115 m
Turn left onto Priory Wood Way.
Priory Wood Way226 m
Turn left onto Doriam Avenue.
Doriam Avenue121 m
Turn right onto Doriam Drive.
Doriam Drive476 m
Turn right onto Huntington Road.
Huntington Road26 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Link Road.
11 m
Exit the roundabout onto Link Road.
Link Road224 m
Turn left onto Haxby Road.
Haxby Road1.1 km
Turn left onto Bowling Green Court.
Bowling Green Court65 m
Turn left to stay on Bowling Green Court.
Bowling Green Court21 m
Turn right to stay on Bowling Green Court.
Bowling Green Court37 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Bowling Green Court.
Bowling Green Court37 m
Turn left to stay on Bowling Green Court.
Bowling Green Court21 m
Turn right to stay on Bowling Green Court.
Bowling Green Court65 m
Turn right onto Haxby Road.
Haxby Road1.1 km
Turn right onto Link Road.
Link Road224 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Huntington Road.
13 m
Exit the roundabout onto Huntington Road.
Huntington Road1.1 km
Turn right onto New Lane.
New Lane290 m
Turn left onto Brecks Lane.
Brecks Lane1 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Brecks Lane.
Brecks Lane1 m
Turn right onto New Lane.
New Lane290 m
Turn right onto North Moor Road.
North Moor Road448 m
Turn right onto North Lane.
North Lane956 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
85 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road.
A12371.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto Malton Road/A1036.
72 m
Exit the roundabout onto Malton Road/A1036.
Malton Road237 m
Turn right onto Hopgrove Lane North.
Hopgrove Lane North336 m
Make a right U-turn to stay on Hopgrove Lane North.
Hopgrove Lane North336 m
Turn left onto Malton Road/A1036.
Malton Road230 m
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto A1237/Ring Road.
6 m
Exit the roundabout onto A1237/Ring Road.
A12371.4 km
Enter the roundabout and take the 1st exit onto Monks Cross Link.
7 m
Exit the roundabout onto Monks Cross Link.
Monks Cross Link1.1 km
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.
71 m
Exit the roundabout.
46 m
Turn left.
54 m
Turn left.
15 m
Turn left.
72 m
You have arrived at your destination.
Directions for the York · 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.
Expect busier traffic, pick-ups and pedestrians around these.
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.
New Look
Start near New Look.
Decathlon
Continue to Decathlon.
Regatta Great Outdoors
Continue to Regatta Great Outdoors.
Aldi
Continue to Aldi.
Magnet
Continue to Magnet.
Fordstore
Continue to Fordstore.
Rapidfit
Continue to Rapidfit.
S G Petch
Continue to S G Petch.
Pet's Pantry
Continue to Pet's Pantry.
Priory Wood Way
Continue to Priory Wood Way.
Hogshead
Continue to Hogshead.
St Andrew's Church
Continue to St Andrew's Church.
Mill Lodge Hospital
Continue to Mill Lodge Hospital.
Brecks Lodge
Continue to Brecks Lodge.
Huntington Village Stores
Continue to Huntington Village Stores.
Shades
Continue to Shades.
Herbert Todd & Son
Continue to Herbert Todd & Son.
Taco Bell
Continue to Taco Bell.
Barnardo's
Continue to Barnardo's.
McDonald's
Finish back near McDonald's, completing the loop.
40 roundabouts · 6 turns
24 roundabouts · 26 turns
27 roundabouts · 6 turns
18 roundabouts · 19 turns
This route is 14.5 km and takes about 18 min to drive at a steady learner pace. It is an independent practice loop near York test centre, not an official DVSA route.