Greenford (Horsenden Lane)

Somewhere real to practise

6 circuits from the test centre on 96 Horsenden Lane North, Greenford, each one 36 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Greenford test actually uses. Turn by turn, with the roundabout exits numbered, and a manoeuvre to try on each one.

Swap your Greenford test Straight to the routes

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, speeds and road types the test actually assesses. Drive the roads, not a sequence.

You drive. Somebody else reads.

Nobody can read a numbered list at 30 mph, 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 their phone. Either way they call the turns and you drive.

About the Google Maps links

Google plots its own line between the corners we give it, so the written steps are the route and the map is for orientation and for getting the thing onto a phone.

Two things it 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 · Target Roundabout → White Hart

Target and White Hart

Two roundabouts on the A312 through Northolt and Yeading, with the traffic doing most of the work rather than the speed. The shortest of the six and the one to drive first.

7.8 milesabout 36 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20
2
Turn left to stay on Horsenden Lane North 0.3 miles 20
3
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.0 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
4
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 0.2 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
5
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.9 miles 40
6
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 380 yards 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
7
At Target Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
8
At White Hart, take the 3rd exit onto Yeading Lane 120 yards30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
9
Turn right into an unnamed road 200 yards 30?
10
Turn right into Yeading Lane 320 yards 30?
11
At White Hart, take the 2nd exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
12
At Target Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 170 yards30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
13
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 270 yards 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
14
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.9 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
15
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.2 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
16
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Greenford Road 1.0 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
17
Turn right into Horsenden Lane North 0.3 miles 30?
18
Turn right to stay on Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.

Add a manoeuvre

One will be chosen for you.

Suggested from the map, not from a visit. Look at the road and the signs before you commit to anything, and do not block a driveway or a junction.

Route 2 · John Lyon Roundabout → Hanger Lane Gyratory

John Lyon and Hanger Lane

Out to Sudbury and then round Hanger Lane, which is as busy a junction as this part of London has. Worth meeting on a quiet afternoon rather than for the first time on the day.

9.7 milesabout 46 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Melville Avenue 0.2 miles 20

Signed Horsenden Lane North along the way, and it is the same road.
2
Turn left into Whitton Avenue East 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
Turn right into Greenford Road 0.6 miles 30?
4
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
5
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
6
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto The Crescent 210 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
7
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
8
Turn right into The Fairway 0.3 miles 20
9
Turn right into East Lane 320 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
10
Turn left into Watford Road 0.4 miles 30
11
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Harrow Road 0.2 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
12
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Bridgewater Road 1.0 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
13
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Bridgewater Road 150 yards30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
14
Carry on into Ealing Road 0.6 miles 30?

Signed Hanger Lane along the way, and it is the same road.
15
At Hanger Lane Gyratory, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 0.4 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
16
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.4 miles 40
17
Turn left into an unnamed road 180 yards 40
18
Turn right into Western Avenue 0.6 miles 40
19
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.3 miles 40
20
At Hanger Lane Gyratory, take the 2nd exit onto Hanger Lane 0.3 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
21
Carry on into Ealing Road 0.4 miles 30

Signed Bridgewater Road along the way, and it is the same road.
22
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Bridgewater Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
23
Turn left into Whitton Avenue East 1.0 miles 30?
24
Turn left into Melville Avenue 270 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
25
Carry on into Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20

Add a manoeuvre

One will be chosen for you.

Suggested from the map, not from a visit. Look at the road and the signs before you commit to anything, and do not block a driveway or a junction.

Route 3 · John Lyon Roundabout → Target Roundabout

John Lyon and Target

North to Sudbury and back down to Northolt, taking in the A404 and the A312 on the way. A steady one, with something to negotiate every couple of miles.

10.9 milesabout 50 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Melville Avenue 0.2 miles 20

Signed Horsenden Lane North along the way, and it is the same road.
2
Turn left into Whitton Avenue East 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
Turn right into Greenford Road 0.6 miles 30?
4
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
5
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
6
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto The Crescent 210 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
7
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
8
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
9
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
10
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
11
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
12
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.9 miles 30
13
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 0.2 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
14
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.9 miles 40
15
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 380 yards 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
16
At Target Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
17
At White Hart, take the 5th exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles40
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
18
At Target Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 170 yards30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
19
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 270 yards 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
20
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.9 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
21
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.2 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
22
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Greenford Road 1.0 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
23
Turn right into Horsenden Lane North 0.3 miles 30?
24
Turn right to stay on Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.

Add a manoeuvre

One will be chosen for you.

Suggested from the map, not from a visit. Look at the road and the signs before you commit to anything, and do not block a driveway or a junction.

Route 4 · White Hart → John Lyon Roundabout

White Hart and John Lyon

Across to Yeading and then up to Sudbury, which puts the two far ends of the area into one drive. Mostly a matter of keeping concentration once the junctions are behind you.

11.9 milesabout 53 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20
2
Turn left to stay on Horsenden Lane North 0.3 miles 20
3
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.0 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
4
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 0.2 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
5
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 1.9 miles 40
6
Turn left into Polish War Memorial 0.3 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
7
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto West End Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
8
Carry on into Ruislip Road 0.4 miles 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
9
At White Hart, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
10
At Target Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 170 yards30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
11
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 270 yards 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
12
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.9 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
13
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.2 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
14
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Greenford Road 1.9 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
15
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
16
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
17
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto The Crescent 210 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
18
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
19
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
20
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
21
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
22
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
23
Turn left into Greenford Road 0.6 miles 30
24
Turn left into Whitton Avenue East 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
25
Turn right into Melville Avenue 270 yards 20
26
Carry on into Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20

Add a manoeuvre

One will be chosen for you.

Suggested from the map, not from a visit. Look at the road and the signs before you commit to anything, and do not block a driveway or a junction.

Route 5 · Target Roundabout → White Hart → John Lyon Roundabout

Target, White Hart and John Lyon

Three large roundabouts one after another, spread right across the area. Drive this one twice if exits and lane discipline are where the faults come from.

12.1 milesabout 54 minup to 50 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20
2
Turn left to stay on Horsenden Lane North 0.3 miles 20
3
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.0 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
4
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 0.2 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
5
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.9 miles 40
6
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 380 yards 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
7
At Target Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
8
At White Hart, take the 4th exit onto A4180 0.2 miles40
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
9
Carry on into West End Road 0.7 miles 40

Signed Ruislip Road along the way, and it is the same road.
10
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Polish War Memorial 0.3 miles30?
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
11
Turn right into Western Avenue 1.9 miles 50

The limit here is 50 mph, up from 30.
12
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.2 miles 40

The limit here is 40 mph, down from 50.
13
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Greenford Road 1.9 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
14
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
15
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
16
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto The Crescent 210 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
17
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
18
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
19
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
20
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
21
At John Lyon Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
22
Turn left into Greenford Road 0.6 miles 30
23
Turn left into Whitton Avenue East 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
24
Turn right into Melville Avenue 270 yards 20
25
Carry on into Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20

Add a manoeuvre

One will be chosen for you.

Suggested from the map, not from a visit. Look at the road and the signs before you commit to anything, and do not block a driveway or a junction.

Route 6 · White Hart → Target Roundabout → Hanger Lane Gyratory

The long way round by Hanger Lane

Yeading, then Northolt, then Hanger Lane to finish, 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 56 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20
2
Turn left to stay on Horsenden Lane North 0.3 miles 20
3
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.0 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
4
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 0.2 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
5
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 1.9 miles 40
6
Turn left into Polish War Memorial 0.3 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
7
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto West End Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
8
Carry on into Ruislip Road 0.4 miles 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
9
At White Hart, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
10
At Target Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Western Avenue 170 yards30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
11
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 3.4 miles 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
12
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.2 miles 40

This is where the route turns back on itself, so you carry on the other way from here.
13
At Hanger Lane Gyratory, take the 4th exit onto Western Avenue 0.4 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
14
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.4 miles 40
15
Turn left into an unnamed road 180 yards 40
16
Turn right into Western Avenue 0.6 miles 40
17
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.3 miles 40
18
At Hanger Lane Gyratory, take the 2nd exit onto Hanger Lane 0.3 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
19
Carry on into Ealing Road 0.4 miles 30

Signed Bridgewater Road along the way, and it is the same road.
20
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Bridgewater Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
21
Turn left into Whitton Avenue East 1.0 miles 30?
22
Turn left into Melville Avenue 270 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
23
Carry on into Horsenden Lane North 130 yards 20

Add a manoeuvre

One will be chosen for you.

Suggested from the map, not from a visit. Look at the road and the signs before you commit to anything, and do not block a driveway or a junction.

Before you drive it

Watch somebody else drive Greenford first

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

Find more Greenford route videos

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

Where the roads come from

Every road, speed limit, roundabout and car park named on this page comes from OpenStreetMap, used under the Open Database Licence. A speed shown with a question mark is our inference from the road type rather than a signed limit in the data. 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.