Birmingham (South Yardley)

Somewhere real to practise

5 circuits from the test centre on Clay Lane, South Yardley, each one 39 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Birmingham test actually uses. Turn by turn, with the roundabout exits numbered, and a manoeuvre to try on each one.

Straight to the routes Swap your Birmingham test

Is your test on the right date? If it is too soon or too far off, a learner at Birmingham (South Yardley) who wants the opposite could swap with you. Get an email when one joins

Before you drive any of these

Practising in your own car is legal and it is the cheapest way to get better. The rules are short:

Whoever sits beside you must be over 21, qualified to drive that type of car, and have held their full licence for three years.
The car needs L plates front and rear, and insurance that covers you as a learner. Some insurers also want the supervisor to be over 25.
No motorways. A learner can only go on one with an approved instructor in a dual-control car, so none of these routes touch one.

The rules on GOV.UK

These are not the examiner's routes, and nobody else's are either.

DVSA stopped publishing test routes in 2010 and refuses freedom-of-information requests for them. Since December 2017 four tests in five are led by a sat nav the examiner sets up, so even the examiner's route is not a fixed thing you could learn.

What these are: loops on the real roads around the centre, put together so you meet the junctions and road types the test actually assesses. Drive the roads, not a sequence.

You drive. Somebody else reads.

Nobody can read a numbered list while driving, and a sat nav will not tell you which exit to take early enough to get in the right lane. So these routes are written for the person in the passenger seat: the supervising driver who has to be there anyway.

Two ways to do that: print the route and put it on their lap, or send it to them on WhatsApp. Either way they call the turns and you drive.

If the phone and the written steps disagree, the written steps are the route. Google plots its own line between the places we hand it, and it will sometimes take a turn this page would not print.

About the Google Maps links

Google does not follow our route. It draws its own between the places we give it, and it is bound by none of the rules these pages are built on, two of which matter here: no turn in the road and no motorway.

So a route goes to Google in legs, and each leg ends at a real place to stop: a car park, a quiet side street, a loop road, with a manoeuvre to do there. The next leg starts from a parked car, so there is nothing behind you for Google to turn round for. Every leg is opened in Google Maps and checked by hand before its button goes on the page.

A route whose legs have not been checked yet has no Google Maps button. Drive it with the written directions read out, which is how the test itself works anyway.

Two other things Google will not tell you: its travel time assumes a confident driver in clear traffic, so expect ours to be closer; and it will happily route you down something a learner should not be on. Look at it before you set off.

The small map on each route is ours, drawn from the same data. It needs no permission, loads instantly and prints, which is why it is the one you see first.

Route 1 · Swan Island → Robin Hood Island

Swan Island and Robin Hood Island

Down the A4040 from Yardley to Hall Green and back. The shortest of the five and the one to drive first.

8.9 milesabout 46 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 5 legs

Each button opens one leg in Google Maps. A leg ends at a stop with something to practise, so do the leg, park, do the manoeuvre, then open the next.

Leg 1 · 1.9 milesTo Arden Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Left off Stockfield Road, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Stockfield Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 16 steps
1. 1
  Start on Clay Lane 0.5 miles
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 110 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into the slip road 380 yards
4. 4
  At Swan Island, take the 1st exit onto Yardley Road 330 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5. 5
  At Stockfield Road, take the 2nd exit onto Arden Road
  Approach in the right lane, signal right, then signal left once you pass the exit before yours.
6. 6
  Turn left to stay on Arden Road 130 yards
7. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 2 · 1.7 milesTo Boden Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Fox Hollies Road, a quiet residential road
Use forward and reverse, as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards Fox Hollies Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 27 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Arden Road to the end 110 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Warwick Road 140 yards
3. 3
  Turn right to stay on Warwick Road 70 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Fox Hollies Road 0.5 miles
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Fox Hollies Road 0.7 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Fox Hollies Road 330 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn left into Boden Road 110 yards
8. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 3 · 1.5 milesTo Primrose Lane Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car

On the route, the residential stretch of Primrose Lane between Baldwins Lane and Robin Hood Lane
Pick a gap at least a car and a half long, clear of driveways, and keep checking all round as you reverse in.
Directions for the passenger, leg 36 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Boden Road to the end 110 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Fox Hollies Road 180 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Lakey Lane 0.2 miles
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Shirley Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the right lane, signal right, then signal left once you pass the exit before yours.
5. 5
  At Robin Hood Island, take the 3rd exit onto Baldwins Lane 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Turn right into Primrose Lane 190 yards
7. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 4 · 1.8 milesTo Severne Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Left off Gospel Lane, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Gospel Lane.
Directions for the passenger, leg 46 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Primrose Lane 230 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Robin Hood Lane 250 yards
3. 3
  At Robin Hood Island, take the 3rd exit onto Solihull Lane 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn left into Redstone Farm Road 0.5 miles
5. 5
  Carry on into Gospel Lane 0.7 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into Severne Road 80 yards
7. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 5 · 2 milesBack to the test centre Open inGoogle Maps
The last leg. Nothing to do at the end of it but park.
Directions for the passenger, leg 510 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Severne Road to the end 80 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Gospel Lane 0.5 miles
3. 3
  Turn left into Olton Boulevard East 310 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Dolphin Lane 230 yards
5. 5
  Turn right into Warwick Road 360 yards
6. 6
  Turn left into Lincoln Road 360 yards
7. 7
  Turn right to stay on Lincoln Road 0.3 miles
8. 8
  Carry on into Bosworth Road 360 yards
9. 9
  Turn right into Clay Lane 220 yards
10. 10
  Turn right to stay on Clay Lane 70 yards
11. You are back at the test centre. Park where you started.

Stop only where it is safe and legal, and read the signs: a car park is somebody's, and a residential street has driveways and junctions to stay clear of.

Route 2 · Camp Hill Circus → Bordesley Circus

Camp Hill and Bordesley Circus

The Middleway between its two circuses, in traffic that never opens up. Lane discipline is the whole of what it asks.

10.4 milesabout 56 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 5 legs

Each button opens one leg in Google Maps. A leg ends at a stop with something to practise, so do the leg, park, do the manoeuvre, then open the next.

Leg 1 · 1.6 milesTo Redhill Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Left off Coventry Road, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Coventry Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 13 steps
1. 1
  Start on Clay Lane 0.5 miles
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 1.0 miles
3. 3
  Turn left into Redhill Road 90 yards
4. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 2 · 3.5 milesTo Westley Street Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Watery Lane Middleway, a side road
Use forward and reverse, as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards Watery Lane Middleway.
Directions for the passenger, leg 27 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Redhill Road to the end 90 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Small Heath Highway 1.0 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At Camp Hill Circus, take the 4th exit onto Bordesley Middleway 0.3 miles
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
6. 6
  At Bordesley Circus, take the 2nd exit onto Watery Lane Middleway 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn left into Westley Street 60 yards
8. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 3 · 2.1 milesTo Byron Road Open inGoogle Maps

Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Small Heath Highway, a quiet residential road
Check all round before each move, and finish facing back the way you came in, ready for the next leg.
Directions for the passenger, leg 37 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Westley Street to the end 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Watery Lane Middleway 220 yards
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Watery Lane Middleway 0.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  At Bordesley Circus, take the 2nd exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Golden Hillock Road 210 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 5th exit onto Waverley Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right into Byron Road 30 yards
8. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 4 · 1.1 milesTo Shipway Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Left off Coventry Road, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Coventry Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 45 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Byron Road to the end 30 yards
2. 2
  Carry on into Tennyson Road 0.4 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Coventry Road 0.4 miles
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Coventry Road 340 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn left into Shipway Road 100 yards
6. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 5 · 2.2 milesBack to the test centre Open inGoogle Maps
The last leg. Nothing to do at the end of it but park.
Directions for the passenger, leg 54 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Shipway Road to the end 100 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 1.5 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Gilbertstone Avenue 0.6 miles
  
  Take the slip road.
4. 4
  Turn left into Clay Lane 200 yards
5. You are back at the test centre. Park where you started.

Stop only where it is safe and legal, and read the signs: a car park is somebody's, and a residential street has driveways and junctions to stay clear of.

Practising for the wrong date? A learner at Birmingham (South Yardley) who wants the opposite date could swap with you, and DVSA does the swap on the phone. Tell me when one joins

Route 3 · Saltley Gate → Bordesley Circus

Saltley Gate and Bordesley Circus

North to Saltley and round to Bordesley, through some of the busiest streets in the city. Patience rather than speed.

11.2 milesabout 58 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 5 legs

Each button opens one leg in Google Maps. A leg ends at a stop with something to practise, so do the leg, park, do the manoeuvre, then open the next.

Leg 1 · 2.2 milesTo Heather Road Open inGoogle Maps

Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road

Right off Coventry Road, a quiet residential road
Check all round before each move, and finish facing back the way you came in, ready for the next leg.
Directions for the passenger, leg 14 steps
1. 1
  Start on Clay Lane 0.5 miles
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 1.3 miles
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Coventry Road 380 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn right into Heather Road 120 yards
5. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 2 · 2.3 milesTo Crawford Street Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again along Crawford Street

Left off Adderley Road, a side road
Crawford Street is one-way, so do not turn round here. Choose a safe, legal place and move off only when the road behind is clear.
Directions for the passenger, leg 26 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Heather Road to the end 120 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Coventry Road 0.6 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Muntz Street 0.3 miles
4. 4
  Carry on into Bordesley Green Road 1.1 miles
  
  Signed Victoria Street and Ash Road along the way, and it is the same road.
5. 5
  Turn right into Adderley Road 180 yards
6. 6
  Turn left into Crawford Street 80 yards
7. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again along Crawford Street.
Leg 3 · 2.6 milesTo Sampson Road North Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car

On the route, the residential stretch of Sampson Road North between Bordesley Middleway and Henley Street
Use a gap well away from junctions. Go slowly, and stop if anyone comes past while you reverse.
Directions for the passenger, leg 311 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Crawford Street 110 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Cranby Street 140 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into Adderley Road 160 yards
4. 4
  At Saltley Gate, take the 3rd exit onto Adderley Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn left into Ash Road 0.3 miles
6. 6
  Carry on into Bordesley Green Road 0.6 miles
7. 7
  Turn right into Bordesley Green 320 yards
8. 8
  Turn left into Cattell Road 0.4 miles
9. 9
  Turn right into Coventry Road 0.2 miles
10. 10
  At Bordesley Circus, take the 3rd exit onto Bordesley Middleway 320 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
11. 11
  Turn left into Sampson Road North 210 yards
12. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 4 · 2.3 milesTo Shipway Road Open inGoogle Maps

Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Coventry Road, a quiet residential road
Check all round before each move, and finish facing back the way you came in, ready for the next leg.
Directions for the passenger, leg 410 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Sampson Road North 190 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Henley Street 90 yards
3. 3
  Carry on into Montgomery Street 0.5 miles
  
  Signed South Road along the way, and it is the same road.
4. 4
  Turn left into Anderton Road 250 yards
5. 5
  Turn left into Golden Hillock Road 70 yards
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn left into the link road 250 yards
8. 8
  Turn right into Small Heath Highway 0.5 miles
9. 9
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Coventry Road 340 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
10. 10
  Turn left into Shipway Road 100 yards
11. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 5 · 1.9 milesBack to the test centre Open inGoogle Maps
The last leg. Nothing to do at the end of it but park.
Directions for the passenger, leg 54 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Shipway Road to the end 100 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 1.2 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Coventry Road 260 yards
  
  Turn right through the short link road first.
4. 4
  Turn left into Clay Lane 0.5 miles
5. You are back at the test centre. Park where you started.

Stop only where it is safe and legal, and read the signs: a car park is somebody's, and a residential street has driveways and junctions to stay clear of.

Route 4 · Robin Hood Island → Bordesley Circus

Robin Hood Island and Bordesley Circus

Hall Green to the Middleway, the two ends of what a South Yardley test reaches. Longer than the first three, and concentration is most of it.

12.9 milesabout 65 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 5 legs

Each button opens one leg in Google Maps. A leg ends at a stop with something to practise, so do the leg, park, do the manoeuvre, then open the next.

Leg 1 · 2.6 milesTo Wellfield Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Right off Redstone Farm Road, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Redstone Farm Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 110 steps
1. 1
  Start on Clay Lane 70 yards
2. 2
  Turn left to stay on Clay Lane 220 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into Bosworth Road 360 yards
4. 4
  Carry on into Lincoln Road North 0.3 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into The Avenue 70 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Lincoln Road 300 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Olton Boulevard East 100 yards
8. 8
  Turn left into Gospel Lane 1.2 miles
9. 9
  Carry on into Redstone Farm Road 0.4 miles
10. 10
  Turn right into Wellfield Road 70 yards
11. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 2 · 2.2 milesTo Reddings Lane Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, the stretch of Reddings Lane between Stratford Road and Battery Way
Pick a gap clear of driveways and well back from any junction. Mirrors, signal and a look over your shoulder before you move off.
Directions for the passenger, leg 25 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Wellfield Road to the end 50 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Redstone Farm Road 110 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Solihull Lane 0.3 miles
4. 4
  At Robin Hood Island, take the 4th exit onto Stratford Road 1.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn right into Reddings Lane 0.3 miles
6. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 3 · 3.1 milesTo Westley Street Open inGoogle Maps

Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Watery Lane Middleway, a side road
Check all round before each move, and finish facing back the way you came in, ready for the next leg.
Directions for the passenger, leg 39 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Reddings Lane 0.3 miles
2. 2
  Turn left into Battery Way 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Carry on into Warwick Road 0.3 miles
  
  Signed Weston Lane along the way, and it is the same road.
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Warwick Road 330 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Golden Hillock Road 0.6 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right to stay on Small Heath Highway 150 yards
8. 8
  Turn left into Watery Lane Middleway 0.3 miles
9. 9
  Turn left into Westley Street 60 yards
10. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 4 · 2.1 milesTo Byron Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Left off Small Heath Highway, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Small Heath Highway.
Directions for the passenger, leg 47 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Westley Street to the end 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Watery Lane Middleway 220 yards
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Watery Lane Middleway 0.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  At Bordesley Circus, take the 2nd exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Golden Hillock Road 210 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 5th exit onto Waverley Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right into Byron Road 30 yards
8. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 5 · 2.9 milesBack to the test centre Open inGoogle Maps
The last leg. Nothing to do at the end of it but park.
Directions for the passenger, leg 56 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Byron Road to the end 30 yards
2. 2
  Carry on into Tennyson Road 0.4 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Coventry Road 0.4 miles
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Coventry Road 1.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn right into Coventry Road 260 yards
  
  Turn right through the short link road first.
6. 6
  Turn left into Clay Lane 0.5 miles
7. You are back at the test centre. Park where you started.

Stop only where it is safe and legal, and read the signs: a car park is somebody's, and a residential street has driveways and junctions to stay clear of.

Route 5 · Swan Island → Robin Hood Island → Bordesley Circus

The long way round the Middleway

Three named islands and thirteen roundabouts, the most of any route here, which makes it longer than a real test. Worth driving once in the fortnight before the date, because tiredness is what turns a good drive into a careless fault.

14.1 milesabout 74 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 5 legs

Each button opens one leg in Google Maps. A leg ends at a stop with something to practise, so do the leg, park, do the manoeuvre, then open the next.

Leg 1 · 2.8 milesTo Hartfield Crescent Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Fox Hollies Road, a quiet residential road
Use forward and reverse, as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards Fox Hollies Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 19 steps
1. 1
  Start on Clay Lane 0.5 miles
2. 2
  Turn left into Coventry Road 110 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into the slip road 380 yards
4. 4
  At Swan Island, take the 1st exit onto Yardley Road 330 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5. 5
  At Stockfield Road, take the 2nd exit onto Warwick Road
  Approach in the right lane, signal right, then signal left once you pass the exit before yours.
6. 6
  Turn left to stay on Warwick Road 130 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Fox Hollies Road 0.5 miles
8. 8
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Fox Hollies Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9. 9
  Turn left into Hartfield Crescent 70 yards
10. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 2 · 2.7 milesTo Cambrai Drive Open inGoogle Maps

Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Stratford Road, a quiet residential road
Check all round before each move, and finish facing back the way you came in, ready for the next leg.
Directions for the passenger, leg 28 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Hartfield Crescent to the end 70 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Fox Hollies Road 0.4 miles
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Fox Hollies Road 0.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn left into Stratford Road 60 yards
5. 5
  Turn right into Highfield Road 0.4 miles
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Robin Hood Lane 0.5 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  At Robin Hood Island, take the 1st exit onto Stratford Road 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
8. 8
  Turn left into Cambrai Drive 80 yards
9. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 3 · 2.8 milesTo Armoury Road Open inGoogle Maps

Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out

Right off Golden Hillock Road, a side road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Golden Hillock Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 311 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Cambrai Drive to the end 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Stratford Road 0.5 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Reddings Lane 0.6 miles
4. 4
  Turn left into Battery Way 0.3 miles
5. 5
  Carry on into Warwick Road 0.3 miles
  
  Signed Weston Lane along the way, and it is the same road.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Warwick Road 330 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Golden Hillock Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
8. 8
  Turn left into Sydenham Road 0.2 miles
9. 9
  Turn right into Anderton Road 220 yards
10. 10
  Turn right into Golden Hillock Road 70 yards
11. 11
  Turn left into Armoury Road 110 yards
12. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 4 · 2.6 milesTo Byron Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road

Left off Small Heath Highway, a quiet residential road
Use forward and reverse, as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards Small Heath Highway.
Directions for the passenger, leg 47 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Armoury Road to the end 110 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Golden Hillock Road 140 yards
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  At Bordesley Circus, take the 2nd exit onto Small Heath Highway 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Golden Hillock Road 210 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 5th exit onto Waverley Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right into Byron Road 30 yards
8. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 5 · 3.2 milesBack to the test centre Open inGoogle Maps
The last leg. Nothing to do at the end of it but park.
Directions for the passenger, leg 56 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Byron Road to the end 30 yards
2. 2
  Carry on into Tennyson Road 0.4 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Coventry Road 0.4 miles
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Coventry Road 1.7 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn right into Gilbertstone Avenue 0.6 miles
  
  Take the slip road.
6. 6
  Turn left into Clay Lane 200 yards
7. You are back at the test centre. Park where you started.

Stop only where it is safe and legal, and read the signs: a car park is somebody's, and a residential street has driveways and junctions to stay clear of.

Before you drive it

Watch somebody else drive Birmingham first

Instructors film these roads constantly. Watch for the roads: which roundabout, which multi-lane approach, where the lanes split. Not for a sequence to memorise, because the sequence is the one thing that changes.

Find more Birmingham route videos

Opens a YouTube search for this centre. A video only goes on this page once somebody here has watched the whole thing.

Birmingham (South Yardley) · free

Is your Birmingham (South Yardley) test on the right date?

Practising for a date that is too far off, or one that comes before you are ready? A swap with a learner at Birmingham (South Yardley) who wants the opposite moves both of you, and DVSA does it over the phone. DVSA's median wait from booking to test at Birmingham (South Yardley) was 11.9 weeks in September 2026. Tell us which way you want to move and we email you when a learner who could swap with you joins. Your email is never shown to anyone.

One email to confirm, no password, and one click takes you off the list. How we handle your details.

No test booked yet? There is nothing to swap until you have one. Book on GOV.UK, then come back.

Where the roads come from

Every road, roundabout and car park named on this page comes from OpenStreetMap, used under the Open Database Licence. Trust the signs, not us.

Distances and times are calculated, not driven. The turns between the junctions are worked out by OSRM, an open source router running on that same map data. The times assume town-centre averages, so treat them as a rough guide.

Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it, or fix it in OpenStreetMap and it corrects itself everywhere.

Somewhere real to practise

Before you drive any of these

You drive. Somebody else reads.

Swan Island and Robin Hood Island

Drive it in 5 legs

Camp Hill and Bordesley Circus

Drive it in 5 legs

Saltley Gate and Bordesley Circus

Drive it in 5 legs

Robin Hood Island and Bordesley Circus

Drive it in 5 legs

The long way round the Middleway

Drive it in 5 legs

Watch somebody else drive Birmingham first

You are already on Driving Test Hero

Is your Birmingham (South Yardley) test on the right date?

Where the roads come from