The UK's Best Learner Routes
Group 1 Automotive has analysed thousands of official DVLA test routes from the 680 test centres in the UK to discover the most popular roads, and therefore the best routes, to learn on in your own time.
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Learning to drive can be an expensive undertaking. A recent study showed that on average instructors charge £30 per hour, and with the average person taking 45 hours to learn, costs can run into the thousands.
Not just this, but the coronavirus has halted the ability for people to learn with instructors, meaning they have been forced to learn with appropriate family members on necessary journeys instead.
Therefore it can be important to learn on your own time, in your own car, to maximise the chance of saving money and passing early.
With this in mind Group 1 Automotive has analysed thousands of DVLA test routes from the 680 test centres in the UK to discover the most popular roads, and therefore the best routes, to learn on in your own time.
We did this in two ways:
The first was to take the DVLA last published test routes. We analysed hundreds of published routes, that were last updated in 2010. We also then utilised local driving instructor blogs to determine anecdotal evidence of which roads have been included the most recently.
With a combination of these two data sources, we were able to confidently say which roads could feature the most on a potential driving test. We also split the test centres by region, showing the busiest according to DVLA data below.
These are the roads that are best for the driving test, if you’re learning by yourself.
The Most Popular Routes by Region
East Anglia
Ipswich (Felixstowe Road, Bixley Road, Nacton Road, Ransomes Way, Central Avenue , Woodbridge Road, Foxhall Road, Bluestem Road)
Norwich (Peachman Way & Jupiter Road) Mile Cross Lane, Wroxham Road, Constitution Hill, Chartwell Rd / Mile Cross Lane, St Faiths Road, Sprowston Road, Drayton Road,)
Kings Lynn (Bergen Way, Hamburg Way, Loke Road, Wootton Road, Lynn Road, Vancouver Avenue)
London
Pinner (Tolcarne Drive, Chamberlain Way, Rickmansworth Road, Cuckoo Hill, Copsewood May)
Tolworth (Douglas Road, Ewell Road, Langley Avenue, Ditton Road, A3, Upper Brighton Road, Sugden Road)
Isleworth (Worton Road, Hall Road, London Road, Whitton Dene, Whitton Road, Heath Road, Bridge Road, Hall Road)
North West
Norris Green (Parthenon Drive, Townsend Avenue, Falklands Approach, Utting Avenue East, West Derby Road, Queens Drive)
West Didsbury (Barlow Moor Road, Princess Road, Altrincham Road, Wilmslow Road, Lapwing Lane, Wilbraham Road)
Cheetham Hill (Waterloo Road, Alderglen Road, Camp Street, Elizabeth Street, Broad Street, Great Clowes Street, Broughton Lane)
North East
Middlesbrough (Sotherby Road, Maxwell Road, Cargo Fleet Road, A66, Trunk Road, Normanby Road)
Durham (Hallgarth Street, New Elvet, Millburgate Bridge, Potters Bank, Leazes Road, Framewellgate Peth)
South Shields (Bedesway, Shaftesbury Avenue, Monksway, Jarrow Road, Western Approach, A184)
Yorkshire and the Humber
Leeds (Oakwood Lane, Harehills Lane, York Road, Foundry Approach, Wykebeck Valley Road, Coldcotes Drive)
Sheffield (Handsworth) (Handsworth Road, Richmond Park Road, Slip Road, Mosborugh Parkway, Prince of Wales Road, Richmond Road)
Hull (Clough Road, Reservoir Road, Stoneferry Road, Ferry Lane, Fountain Road, Chamberlain Road)
York (Hull Road, Tang Hall Road, Murton Way, Osbaldwick Lane, Stockton lane, Melroseegate, Malton Road)
Bridlington (Sewerby Road, Queensgate, Quay Road, Station Road, Marton Road, Shaftsbury Road, Sewerby Heads, Scarborough Road, Cardigan Road, St Mary’s Walk)
East Midlands
Peterborough (Gresley Way, Westfield Road, Bourges Boulevard, Thorpe Road, Lincoln Road, Mayors Walk)
Derby (Sinin Lane, Warwick Avenue, Manor Road, Stenson Road, Wilmore Road, Newdigate Street, Kenilworth Avenue, Merril Way)
Northampton (Gladstone Road, Heathfield Way, Spencer Bridge Road, Harlestone Road, Weedon Road, Towcester Road)
Nottingham (Colwick) (Daleside Road, Mile End Road, Colwick Road, Meadow Lane, Colwick Loop Road, Daleside Road, Chaworth Road, Manvers Street)
Kettering (Station Road, Northampton Road, London Road, Bowling Green Road, Sheep Street, Rockingham Road, Pytchley Road, Northfield Avenue)
Leicester (Gipsy Lane, Barkby Road, Troon Way, Thurmaston Lane, Melton Road, Gleneagles Avenue, Catherine Street)
South East
Oxford (Hollow Way, James Wolfe Road, Eastern By-Pass Road, Old Road, Horspath Driftway, York Road, The Slade)
Farnborough (Hawley Lane, Farnborough Road, Hawley Road, Fernehill Road, Sand Hill, Prospect Avenue, Frimley Road, Farnborough Gate)
Portsmouth (Portsdown Hill Road, James Callaghan Drive, Havant Road, London Road, Northern Road)
Reading (Basingstoke Road, Elgar Road, Shinfield Road, Northumberland Avenue, Northcourt Avenue, Cressingham Road, Lower Earley Way)
Southampton (Woodmill Lane, West End Road, Forest Hills Drive, Wakefield Road, Townhill Way)
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We crawled and analysed the latest published test centre routes from the DVLA (latest published October 2012), and then also looked at local driving teacher blogs published in recent years to discover the roads that appear the most on the test routes.
Sources:
Copies of practical test routes
