Cardiff (Llanishen)

Somewhere real to practise

3 circuits from the test centre on Cardiff (Llanishen) test centre, from DVSA's centre file, each one 34 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Cardiff 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 Cardiff test

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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 · the Fidlas Road and Heathwood Road roundabout → the Lake Road West and Llandennis Road roundabout → the Station Road and Tŷ Glas Road roundabout

Roath Park Lake and Heath

Along Fidlas Road to the roundabouts at the top of Roath Park Lake, back past Heath Halt and round by Station Road and Newborough Avenue. Five roundabouts in under five miles, and the one to drive first.

4.7 milesabout 35 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 4 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 · 1.3 milesTo Fidlas Avenue Open inGoogle Maps

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

Left off Fidlas 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 16 steps
1. 1
  Start on Lambourne Crescent 200 yards
2. 2
  Turn left to stay on Lambourne Crescent 100 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Parc Tŷ Glas 330 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Tŷ Glas Avenue 0.4 miles
5. 5
  Turn right into Fidlas Road 0.5 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into Fidlas Avenue 70 yards
7. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 2 · 0.8 milesTo Heath Halt Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, the stretch of Heath Halt Road
Choose a safe, legal place and stop smoothly. 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 Fidlas Avenue to the end 70 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Fidlas Road 190 yards
3. 3
  At the Fidlas Road and Heathwood Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Llandennis Road 330 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn left to stay on Llandennis Road 190 yards
5. 5
  At the Lake Road West and Llandennis Road roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Lake Road North 380 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Turn right into Heath Halt Road 140 yards
7. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 3 · 1.7 milesTo Newborough Avenue Open inGoogle Maps

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

On the route, the residential stretch of Newborough Avenue between Templeton Avenue and Tŷ Glas Road
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 37 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Heath Halt Road 120 yards
2. 2
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Heathwood Road 250 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
3. 3
  At the Fidlas Road and Heathwood Road roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Fidlas Road 0.8 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn left into Station Road 260 yards
5. 5
  At the Station Road and Tŷ Glas Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Heol Hir 0.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Turn left into Templeton Avenue 100 yards
7. 7
  Turn left into Newborough Avenue 310 yards
8. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 4 · 1 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 47 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Newborough Avenue 340 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Tŷ Glas Road 280 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into Tŷ Glas Avenue 210 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Parc Tŷ Glas 0.3 miles
5. 5
  Turn left to stay on Parc Tŷ Glas 220 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Cleeve Drive 110 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Lambourne Crescent 70 yards
8. 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 · the Lake Road West and Llandennis Road roundabout → the Kelston Road and Park Road roundabout

Roath Park to Whitchurch

Round the top of Roath Park Lake, across Birchgrove by Manor Way to Whitchurch, round the Kelston Road and Park Road roundabout by Velindre, then back through the side streets of Rhiwbina and along Beulah Road. Six roundabouts.

7.3 milesabout 54 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 · 1.7 milesTo Celyn Avenue Open inGoogle Maps

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

Left off Llandennis Road, a quiet residential road
Use forward and reverse, as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards Llandennis Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 18 steps
1. 1
  Start on Lambourne Crescent 200 yards
2. 2
  Turn left to stay on Lambourne Crescent 100 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Parc Tŷ Glas 330 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Tŷ Glas Avenue 0.4 miles
5. 5
  Turn right into Fidlas Road 0.6 miles
6. 6
  At the Fidlas Road and Heathwood Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Llandennis Road 330 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn left to stay on Llandennis Road 190 yards
8. 8
  At the Lake Road West and Llandennis Road roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Celyn Avenue 80 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 2 · 1.1 milesTo Heathway Open inGoogle Maps

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

Right off Heathwood 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 25 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Celyn Avenue to the end 80 yards
2. 2
  At the Lake Road West and Llandennis Road roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Lake Road North 380 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
3. 3
  Turn right into Heath Halt Road 260 yards
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Heathwood Road 0.6 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn right into Heathway 70 yards
6. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 3 · 1.5 milesTo Tŷ'n Y Pwll Road Open inGoogle Maps

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

On the route, the residential stretch of Tŷ'n Y Pwll Road between Old Church Road and Tŷ'n Y Pwll Mews
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 37 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Heathway to the end 70 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Heathwood Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Turn left into Birchgrove Road 360 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Manor Way 0.7 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into Tyn-Y-Parc Road 120 yards
6. 6
  Turn left into Old Church Road 180 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Tŷ'n Y Pwll Road 100 yards
8. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 4 · 1.4 milesTo Leamington Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, the residential stretch of Leamington Road between Heol Y Nant and Tŷ'n y Cae Grove
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 410 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Tŷ'n Y Pwll Road 320 yards
2. 2
  At the Kelston Road and Park Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Kelston Road 290 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
3. 3
  Turn right into Velindre Place 210 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Velindre Road 250 yards
5. 5
  At the Kelston Road and Park Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Tŷ'n Y Pwll Road 10 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Turn right to stay on Tŷ'n Y Pwll Road 0.2 miles
7. 7
  Turn left into Old Church Road 170 yards
8. 8
  Carry on into Tyn-Y-Parc Road 310 yards
9. 9
  Turn left into Heol Y Nant 220 yards
10. 10
  Turn right into Leamington Road 100 yards
11. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 5 · 1.6 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
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Leamington Road 130 yards
2. 2
  Carry on into Tŷ'n y Cae Grove 170 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into Pantbach Road 310 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Beulah Road 0.5 miles
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Tŷ Glas Road 140 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Turn right into Ashbourn Way 0.4 miles
7. 7
  Turn left into Malvern Drive 160 yards
8. 8
  Turn right into Parc Tŷ Glas 220 yards
9. 9
  Turn right into Cleeve Drive 110 yards
10. 10
  Turn right into Lambourne Crescent 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.

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

Route 3 · the Pentwyn Road and Glyn Rhosyn West roundabout → the Circle Way East and Circle Way West roundabout

Cyncoed, Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn

Up Rhyd-y-Penau Road and Gwernrhuddi Road to Pentwyn, round Llanedeyrn by Circle Way, then back along Cyncoed Road and Celyn Avenue past the lake. Seven roundabouts and some busier roads.

8.9 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 · 1.7 milesTo Dan-Y-Coed Road Open inGoogle Maps

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

Right off Rhyd-Y-Penau 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 17 steps
1. 1
  Start on Lambourne Crescent 200 yards
2. 2
  Turn left to stay on Lambourne Crescent 100 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Parc Tŷ Glas 330 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Tŷ Glas Avenue 0.4 miles
5. 5
  Turn right into Fidlas Road 0.6 miles
6. 6
  At the Fidlas Road and Heathwood Road roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Rhyd-Y-Penau Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right into Dan-Y-Coed Road 100 yards
8. Stop here: Parallel park behind a parked car, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 2 · 1.8 milesTo Goldcrest Drive Open inGoogle Maps

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

Right off Glyn Coed Road, a quiet residential road
Keep it slow and look all round before every move. Finish facing back towards Glyn Coed Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 27 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Bettws-Y-Coed Road to the end 0.3 miles
2. 2
  Turn left into Cyncoed Road 70 yards
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Cyncoed Road 320 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Carry on into Gwernrhuddi Road 0.5 miles
  
  Signed Pentwyn Road along the way, and it is the same road.
5. 5
  At the Pentwyn Road and Glyn Rhosyn West roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Pentwyn Road 350 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Glyn Coed Road 0.5 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right into Goldcrest Drive 50 yards
8. Stop here: Turn the car round in the road, then pull up on the left facing back out.
Leg 3 · 1.8 milesTo Carisbrooke Way Open inGoogle Maps

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

Right off Llanedeyrn Road, a quiet residential road
Use forward and reverse, as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards Llanedeyrn Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 38 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Goldcrest Drive to the end 50 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Glyn Coed Road 240 yards
3. 3
  Turn left to stay on Glyn Coed Road 360 yards
4. 4
  Turn left into Circle Way East 150 yards
5. 5
  Turn right into Llanedeyrn Drive 0.8 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into Circle Way West 240 yards
7. 7
  At the Circle Way East and Circle Way West roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Llanedeyrn Road 0.3 miles
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
8. 8
  Turn right into Carisbrooke Way 110 yards
9. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 4 · 1.6 milesTo Celyn Avenue Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, the residential stretch of Celyn Avenue between Cyncoed Road and Llandennis Road
Stop close to the kerb and parallel to it. Before moving off, check the mirrors and the blind spot, and signal only if it helps someone.
Directions for the passenger, leg 44 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Carisbrooke Way to the end 110 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Llanedeyrn Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Cyncoed Road 0.9 miles
4. 4
  Turn left into Celyn Avenue 0.3 miles
5. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
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 57 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Celyn Avenue 0.3 miles
2. 2
  At the Lake Road West and Llandennis Road roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Llandennis Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
3. 3
  At the Fidlas Road and Heathwood Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Fidlas Road 0.6 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn left into Tŷ Glas Avenue 0.4 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into Parc Tŷ Glas 330 yards
6. 6
  Turn left into Lambourne Crescent 100 yards
7. 7
  Turn right to stay on Lambourne Crescent 200 yards
8. 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 Cardiff 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 Cardiff route videos

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

Cardiff (Llanishen) · free

Is your Cardiff (Llanishen) 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 Cardiff (Llanishen) who wants the opposite moves both of you, and DVSA does it over the phone. DVSA's median wait from booking to test at Cardiff (Llanishen) was 7.7 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.

Roath Park Lake and Heath

Drive it in 4 legs

Roath Park to Whitchurch

Drive it in 5 legs

Cyncoed, Pentwyn and Llanedeyrn

Drive it in 5 legs

Watch somebody else drive Cardiff first

You are already on Driving Test Hero

Is your Cardiff (Llanishen) test on the right date?

Where the roads come from