Hendon

Somewhere real to practise

5 circuits from the test centre on 3 Aviation Drive, Beaufort Park, Hendon, each one 24 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Hendon 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 Hendon 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 · Holders Hill Circus → Mill Hill Circus

Holders Hill and Mill Hill Circus

Two roundabouts at town scale rather than trunk-road scale, with ordinary residential streets in between. The one to drive first.

7.8 milesabout 32 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 · 2.9 milesTo Millbrook Park car park Open inGoogle Maps

Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards

Royal Engineers Way, off Bittacy Hill
Supermarket car park, open all day. Use a quiet corner rather than the bays by the door.
Directions for the passenger, leg 18 steps
1. 1
  Start on Caversham Road 20 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Turn left into Watford Way 0.6 miles
4. 4
  Turn left into Great North Way 0.9 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into Holders Hill Road 0.8 miles
6. 6
  At Holders Hill Circus, take the 2nd exit onto Bittacy Hill 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn right into Royal Engineers Way 40 yards
8. 8
  Turn into Millbrook Park car park. Google Maps shows the entrance.
9. Stop here: Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards.
Leg 2 · 0.8 milesTo Engel Park Open inGoogle Maps

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

Residential, parked cars along both sides
Pick a gap with nothing to hit in front or behind, clear of driveways. Two car lengths is plenty.
Directions for the passenger, leg 23 steps
1. 1
  Drive out of Millbrook Park car park slowly, watching for people walking between the cars, onto Royal Engineers Way 40 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Bittacy Hill 0.4 miles
3. 3
  Turn left into Engel Park 0.4 miles
4. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 3 · 1.5 milesTo Bunns Lane car park Open inGoogle Maps

Forward bay park, reverse out

Station Road, by Mill Hill Broadway
Council pay and display, and the point where the route turns for home, so leave it towards The Broadway.
Directions for the passenger, leg 37 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Engel Park 30 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Bittacy Rise 150 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Pursley Road 0.5 miles
4. 4
  Turn right into Page Street 60 yards
5. 5
  Turn left into Bunn's Lane 0.6 miles
6. 6
  Turn right to stay on Bunn's Lane 380 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Bunns Lane car park.
8. Stop here: Forward bay park, reverse out.
Leg 4 · 2.6 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 48 steps
1. 1
  Drive out of Bunns Lane car park slowly, watching for people walking between the cars.
2. 2
  Turn right into Bunn's Lane 130 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into The Broadway 0.3 miles
4. 4
  At Mill Hill Circus, take the 3rd exit onto Watford Way 1.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn right to stay on Watford Way 70 yards
6. 6
  Turn left to stay on Watford Way 0.6 miles
7. 7
  Turn right into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
8. 8
  Turn right into Caversham Road 20 yards
9. 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 · Holders Hill Circus → Brent Cross Interchange

Holders Hill and Brent Cross

Town roundabouts first, then Brent Cross, which is where a Hendon test first asks for real lane discipline. A sensible second drive, with the hard part in the middle rather than at the end.

8.2 milesabout 36 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 3 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 · 2.7 milesTo Dollis Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

Residential, near Mill Close, houses and parked cars on both sides
A busy road for a stop, so wait for a clear gap. Look for a space clear of driveways and the bus stop.
Directions for the passenger, leg 16 steps
1. 1
  Start on Caversham Road 20 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Turn left into Watford Way 0.6 miles
4. 4
  Turn left into Great North Way 0.9 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into Holders Hill Road 0.8 miles
6. 6
  At Holders Hill Circus, take the 3rd exit onto Dollis Road 30 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 2 · 3.7 milesTo Brent Cross Blue Car Park Open inGoogle Maps

Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards

Off Tilling Road, on the west side of the shopping centre
Multi-storey. Go up a level or two for empty bays and take your time.
Directions for the passenger, leg 214 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Dollis Road 0.5 miles
2. 2
  Turn right into Nether Street 330 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Regent's Park Road 0.9 miles
4. 4
  Turn left into North Circular Road 380 yards
5. 5
  Turn left to stay on North Circular Road 1.0 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into A406 190 yards
7. 7
  At Brent Cross Interchange, take the 4th exit onto A406 50 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
8. 8
  Turn left into Cooper Road 70 yards
9. 9
  At Brent Cross Interchange, take the 1st exit onto Prince Charles Drive 280 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
10. 10
  Turn right into the link road 30 yards
11. 11
  Turn right into Prince Charles Drive 350 yards
12. 12
  Turn right into the link road 130 yards
13. 13
  Turn left into Prince Charles Drive 310 yards
14. 14
  Turn into Brent Cross Blue Car Park. Google Maps shows the entrance.
15. Stop here: Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards.
Leg 3 · 1.8 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 37 steps
1. 1
  Drive out of Brent Cross Blue Car Park slowly, watching for people walking between the cars, onto Prince Charles Drive 310 yards
2. 2
  Turn right to stay on Prince Charles Drive 60 yards
3. 3
  Turn left to stay on Prince Charles Drive 230 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Hendon Way 0.3 miles
5. 5
  Carry on into Watford Way 0.9 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
7. 7
  Turn right into Caversham Road 20 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.

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

Route 3 · Brent Cross Interchange → Staples Corner West Roundabout

Brent Cross and Staples Corner West

The North Circular between two of its largest junctions, so most of this one is dual carriageway. Drive it when lane changes and reading the signs early are what you want the practice on.

6.0 milesabout 31 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 3 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 · 2.4 milesTo Brent Cross Blue Car Park Open inGoogle Maps

Forward bay park, then reverse out

Off Tilling Road, on the west side of the shopping centre
Multi-storey. Go up a level or two for empty bays, and check your mirrors and both blind spots before you back out.
Directions for the passenger, leg 111 steps
1. 1
  Start on Caversham Road 20 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Watford Way 0.9 miles
4. 4
  Carry on into Hendon Way 0.4 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into Haley Road 290 yards
6. 6
  At Brent Cross Interchange, take the 3rd exit onto Prince Charles Drive 280 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
7. 7
  Turn right into the link road 30 yards
8. 8
  Turn right into Prince Charles Drive 350 yards
9. 9
  Turn right into the link road 130 yards
10. 10
  Turn left into Prince Charles Drive 310 yards
11. 11
  Turn into Brent Cross Blue Car Park. Google Maps shows the entrance.
12. Stop here: Forward bay park, then reverse out.
Leg 2 · 2.2 milesTo Vivian Avenue Open inGoogle Maps

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

Residential, off Station Road, terraced houses with cars along both sides
Pick a gap two car lengths long, clear of driveways and the junction with Foscote Road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 29 steps
1. 1
  Drive out of Brent Cross Blue Car Park slowly, watching for people walking between the cars, onto Prince Charles Drive 350 yards
2. 2
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Tempelhof Avenue 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
3. 3
  Turn left into Tilling Road 170 yards
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Tilling Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit 180 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
6. 6
  At Staples Corner West Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Edgware Road West Hendon Broadway 170 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
7. 7
  Carry on into A5 0.5 miles
8. 8
  Turn right into Station Road 0.4 miles
9. 9
  Turn right into Vivian Avenue 280 yards
10. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 3 · 1.4 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 37 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Vivian Avenue 80 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into the link road 100 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into Vivian Avenue 260 yards
4. 4
  Turn right into Station Road 0.3 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into Watford Way 0.6 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
7. 7
  Turn right into Caversham Road 20 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 4 · Staples Corner West Roundabout → Kingsbury Circle

Staples Corner West and Kingsbury Circle

South on the Edgware Road, then Kingsbury Circle, where five roads meet. Busy rather than fast, and the traffic is the difficulty.

9.6 milesabout 46 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 3 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 · 4.6 milesTo Queens Walk Open inGoogle Maps

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

Residential, off Salmon Street, semis with cars on the drives and along the kerb
Turn in off Salmon Street and stop well clear of the junction. Two car lengths of kerb is plenty.
Directions for the passenger, leg 113 steps
1. 1
  Start on Caversham Road 20 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Watford Way 0.6 miles
4. 4
  Turn right into Station Road 0.7 miles
5. 5
  Turn left into West Hendon Broadway 190 yards
6. 6
  Carry on into Edgware Road 0.5 miles
  
  Signed Edgware Road West Hendon Broadway along the way, and it is the same road.
7. 7
  At Staples Corner West Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto North Circular 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 to stay on North Circular Road 1.0 miles
9. 9
  Turn left into A406 190 yards
10. 10
  Carry on into Neasden Lane North 0.7 miles
  
  Signed Neasden Underpass and Blackbird Hill along the way, and it is the same road.
11. 11
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Salmon Street 50 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
12. 12
  Turn left to stay on Salmon Street 270 yards
13. 13
  Turn right into Queens Walk 120 yards
14. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 2 · 2 milesTo Lindsay Drive Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the right, reverse two car lengths, then move off

Residential, off Kenton Road just past Kingsbury Circle
Lindsay Drive loops round with Ormesby Way, so you come back out to Kenton Road facing the right way without turning in the road.
Directions for the passenger, leg 27 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Queens Walk 240 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Church Lane 120 yards
3. 3
  Turn left into Deanscroft Avenue 0.3 miles
4. 4
  Turn right into Salmon Street 310 yards
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Fryent Way 1.1 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At Kingsbury Circle, take the 2nd exit onto Kenton Road 0.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  Turn left into Lindsay Drive 30 yards
8. Stop here: Pull up on the right, reverse two car lengths, then move off.
Leg 3 · 3 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 310 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Lindsay Drive 280 yards
  Follow Lindsay Drive round the loop.
2. 2
  Turn right into Kenton Road 0.2 miles
3. 3
  At Kingsbury Circle, take the 2nd exit onto Kingsbury Road 0.7 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn left into Roe Green 0.3 miles
5. 5
  Carry on into Hay Lane 0.4 miles
6. 6
  Turn left to stay on Hay Lane 50 yards
7. 7
  Carry on into The Hyde 320 yards
8. 8
  Turn right into Colindale Avenue 0.5 miles
9. 9
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
10. 10
  Turn left into Caversham Road 20 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 5 · Kingsbury Circle → Canons Corner → Apex Corner

The long way round the west

Out to Kingsbury, up to Canons Corner and back across the top, 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.

10.5 milesabout 45 min

Test centre1Stops

Send to my navigator on WhatsApp

Drive it in 3 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 Roe Green Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

Village street beside Roe Green Park, houses on one side
Stop past the mini roundabout, not on the approach to it.
Directions for the passenger, leg 16 steps
1. 1
  Start on Caversham Road 20 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Colindale Avenue 0.5 miles
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
4. 4
  Turn left into The Hyde 360 yards
5. 5
  Turn right into Hay Lane 0.5 miles
6. 6
  Turn left into Roe Green 260 yards
7. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 2 · 2.9 milesTo Green Verges Open inGoogle Maps

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

Residential, off Marsh Lane in Stanmore, wide with cars on both sides
Turn in off Marsh Lane and use a gap well past the junction. Two car lengths is plenty.
Directions for the passenger, leg 26 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Roe Green 210 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Kingsbury Road 0.7 miles
3. 3
  At Kingsbury Circle, take the 4th exit onto Honeypot Lane 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Honeypot Lane 0.9 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Carry on into Marsh Lane 260 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Green Verges 60 yards
7. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 3 · 5.9 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 312 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Green Verges 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Marsh Lane 0.7 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into London Road 0.7 miles
4. 4
  At Canons Corner, take the 2nd exit onto Spur Road 0.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Watford By-pass 50 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Carry on into Edgware Way 1.4 miles
7. 7
  At Apex Corner, take the 2nd exit onto A1 0.5 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
8. 8
  At Mill Hill Circus, take the 2nd exit onto Watford Way 1.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9. 9
  Turn right to stay on Watford Way 70 yards
10. 10
  Turn left to stay on Watford Way 0.6 miles
11. 11
  Turn right into Aerodrome Road 0.3 miles
12. 12
  Turn right into Caversham Road 20 yards
13. 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 Hendon 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 Hendon route videos

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

Hendon · free

Is your Hendon 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 Hendon who wants the opposite moves both of you, and DVSA does it over the phone. DVSA's median wait from booking to test at Hendon was 21.1 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.

Holders Hill and Mill Hill Circus

Drive it in 4 legs

Holders Hill and Brent Cross

Drive it in 3 legs

Brent Cross and Staples Corner West

Drive it in 3 legs

Staples Corner West and Kingsbury Circle

Drive it in 3 legs

The long way round the west

Drive it in 3 legs

Watch somebody else drive Hendon first

You are already on Driving Test Hero

Is your Hendon test on the right date?

Where the roads come from