Mitcham

Somewhere real to practise

6 circuits from the test centre on Redhouse Road, Mitcham, each one 23 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Mitcham test actually uses. Turn by turn, with the roundabout exits numbered, and a manoeuvre to try on each one.

Swap your Mitcham 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.

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

About the Google Maps links

Google takes nine points per link and plots its own line between them. It is not following our route, it is drawing its own through the same places, and it is bound by none of the rules these pages are built on. Three of those rules matter here: no turn in the road, no motorway, and nothing over 50 mph. A phone can do all three between two of our points.

So the route is handed over in parts rather than one link. Nine points across twelve miles is one every mile and a half, and a mile and a half is enough for a phone to take a different road entirely. Three or four links put a point every four hundred metres or so, and each one sits just past a turn rather than on a roundabout, because a point on a roundabout says you went through it and nothing about which way you left.

That is a much closer line than one link gives. It is still not ours, and on a long straight with no turns in it there is nothing for a waypoint to pin.

Two other 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 · Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout → Lombard Roundabout

Thornton Heath Pond and Lombard

The two junctions closest to the centre, down the A23 and back by Mitcham Road. Much the shortest of the six and the one to drive first.

4 milesabout 23 minup to 30 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Red House Road 110 yards 30?
2
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.7 miles 30
3
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto London Road 310 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5
Carry on into an unnamed road 50 yards 30
6
Turn right into London Road 370 yards 30
7
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
8
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Mitcham Road 330 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9
Turn right into Fairmead Road 130 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
10
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Fairmead Road 130 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
11
Carry on into Purley Way 340 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
12
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Mitcham Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
13
Turn left into Red House Road 110 yards 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 · Rosehill Roundabout → Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout

Rosehill and Thornton Heath Pond

West to Rosehill, where six roads meet, then south east across to Thornton Heath. Eight roundabouts and heavy traffic for most of it.

10.5 milesabout 56 minup to 30 mph

Maps: part 1 of 3 Maps: part 2 of 3 Maps: part 3 of 3

Google takes nine points per link, so this route is handed over in 3 parts. Drive one, pull in somewhere safe, open the next.

1
Start on Red House Road 110 yards 30?
2
Turn left into Croydon Road 1.2 miles 30
3
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Carshalton Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
Turn right into Goat Road 0.3 miles 30?
5
Carry on into Middleton Road 0.5 miles 30?
6
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Middleton Road 0.4 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7
Turn left into Bishopsford Road 0.4 miles 30
8
At Rosehill Roundabout, take the 5th exit onto St. Helier Avenue 0.4 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
9
Turn right into Middleton Road 0.7 miles 20?

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
10
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Middleton Road 0.5 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
11
Carry on into Goat Road 0.3 miles 30?
12
Turn left into an unnamed road 80 yards 30?
13
Turn left into Carshalton Road 0.6 miles 30
14
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Croydon Road 1.2 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
15
Carry on into Mitcham Road 0.7 miles 30
16
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
17
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Raymead Avenue 360 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
18
Turn left into Colliers Water Lane 290 yards 20
19
Turn left into London Road 70 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
20
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Thornton Road 0.4 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
21
Turn right into Shamrock Road 210 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
22
Turn left into Aurelia Road 0.3 miles 20
23
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.4 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
24
Turn left into Red House Road 110 yards 30?

Route 3 · Lombard Roundabout → Paxton Green Roundabout

Lombard and Paxton Green

Out to Gipsy Hill by way of Lombard, which is the furthest east these routes go. Long and slow rather than difficult.

11 milesabout 60 minup to 30 mph

Maps: part 1 of 3 Maps: part 2 of 3 Maps: part 3 of 3

Google takes nine points per link, so this route is handed over in 3 parts. Drive one, pull in somewhere safe, open the next.

1
Start on Red House Road 110 yards 30?
2
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.7 miles 30
3
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 5th exit onto London Road 70 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5
Turn left into Brigstock Road 0.8 miles 30
6
Turn right into High Street 0.3 miles 30
7
Turn left into Whitehorse Lane 0.7 miles 30
8
Turn left into South Norwood Hill 0.5 miles 30
9
Turn right into Church Road 0.5 miles 30
10
Turn left into Westow Street 370 yards 30
11
Carry on into Gipsy Hill 0.6 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
12
At Paxton Green Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto South Croxted Road 0.3 miles20
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
13
Turn right into Church Approach 110 yards 20
14
Turn right into Alleyn Road 0.3 miles 20
15
Turn left into South Croxted Road 80 yards 20
16
At Paxton Green Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Dulwich Wood Park 0.3 miles20
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
17
Turn right into Farquhar Road 0.2 miles 20
18
Turn right into Jasper Road 220 yards 20
19
Turn right to stay on Jasper Road 250 yards 20
20
Turn left into Westow Hill 90 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
21
Turn right into Church Road 0.8 miles 30
22
Turn left into South Norwood Hill 0.5 miles 30
23
Turn right into Whitehorse Lane 0.7 miles 30
24
Turn right into High Street 0.3 miles 30
25
Carry on into Brigstock Road 0.8 miles 30
26
Turn right into London Road 50 yards 30
27
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.4 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
28
Turn right into Shamrock Road 210 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
29
Turn left into Aurelia Road 0.3 miles 20
30
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.4 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
31
Turn left into Red House Road 110 yards 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 · Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout → Paxton Green Roundabout

Thornton Heath Pond and Paxton Green

The A23 south and then up through Crystal Palace to Paxton Green. A steady drive that never leaves town speeds.

11.2 milesabout 62 minup to 30 mph

Maps: part 1 of 3 Maps: part 2 of 3 Maps: part 3 of 3

Google takes nine points per link, so this route is handed over in 3 parts. Drive one, pull in somewhere safe, open the next.

1
Start on Red House Road 110 yards 30?
2
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.7 miles 30
3
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto London Road 1.4 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5
Carry on into Streatham High Road 260 yards 30
6
Turn right into Green Lane 0.5 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
7
Turn left into Norbury Hill 0.5 miles 20
8
Turn left into Beulah Hill 0.2 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
9
Turn right into Crown Dale 0.4 miles 20?

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
10
Carry on into Central Hill 120 yards 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
11
Turn left into an unnamed road 60 yards 30?
12
Turn left into Salters Hill 0.4 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
13
Turn right into Gipsy Road 290 yards 20
14
At Paxton Green Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto South Croxted Road 0.3 miles20
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
15
Turn right into Church Approach 110 yards 20
16
Turn right into Alleyn Road 0.3 miles 20
17
Turn left into South Croxted Road 80 yards 20
18
At Paxton Green Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Dulwich Wood Park 0.3 miles20
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
19
Turn right into Farquhar Road 0.2 miles 20
20
Turn right into Jasper Road 220 yards 20
21
Turn right to stay on Jasper Road 250 yards 20
22
Turn left into Westow Hill 90 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
23
Turn right into Church Road 0.8 miles 30
24
Turn left into South Norwood Hill 0.5 miles 30
25
Turn right into Whitehorse Lane 0.7 miles 30
26
Turn right into High Street 0.3 miles 30
27
Carry on into Brigstock Road 0.8 miles 30
28
Turn right into London Road 50 yards 30
29
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.4 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
30
Turn right into Shamrock Road 210 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
31
Turn left into Aurelia Road 0.3 miles 20
32
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.4 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
33
Turn left into Red House Road 110 yards 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 5 · Rosehill Roundabout → Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout → Lombard Roundabout

Rosehill, Thornton Heath Pond and Lombard

Three named junctions and eleven roundabouts, more than anything else here. Drive this one twice if exits and lane discipline are where the faults come from.

11.2 milesabout 60 minup to 30 mph

Maps: part 1 of 3 Maps: part 2 of 3 Maps: part 3 of 3

Google takes nine points per link, so this route is handed over in 3 parts. Drive one, pull in somewhere safe, open the next.

1
Start on Red House Road 110 yards 30?
2
Turn left into Croydon Road 1.2 miles 30
3
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Carshalton Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
Turn right into Goat Road 0.3 miles 30?
5
Carry on into Middleton Road 0.5 miles 30?
6
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Middleton Road 0.4 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7
Turn left into Bishopsford Road 0.4 miles 30
8
At Rosehill Roundabout, take the 5th exit onto St. Helier Avenue 0.4 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
9
Turn right into Middleton Road 0.7 miles 20?

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
10
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Middleton Road 0.5 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
11
Carry on into Goat Road 0.3 miles 30?
12
Turn left into an unnamed road 80 yards 30?
13
Turn left into Carshalton Road 0.6 miles 30
14
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Croydon Road 1.2 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
15
Carry on into Mitcham Road 0.7 miles 30
16
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
17
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto London Road 310 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
18
Carry on into an unnamed road 50 yards 30
19
Turn right into London Road 370 yards 30
20
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
21
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Mitcham Road 330 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
22
Turn right into Fairmead Road 130 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
23
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Fairmead Road 130 yards20
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
24
Carry on into Purley Way 340 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
25
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Mitcham Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
26
Turn left into Red House Road 110 yards 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 6 · Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout → Lombard Roundabout → Paxton Green Roundabout

The long way round by Gipsy Hill

Thornton Heath, Lombard and out to Paxton Green, 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.

13 milesabout 72 minup to 30 mph

Maps: part 1 of 3 Maps: part 2 of 3 Maps: part 3 of 3

Google takes nine points per link, so this route is handed over in 3 parts. Drive one, pull in somewhere safe, open the next.

1
Start on Red House Road 110 yards 30?
2
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.7 miles 30
3
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto London Road 310 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5
Carry on into an unnamed road 50 yards 30
6
Turn right into London Road 370 yards 30
7
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Thornton Road 0.7 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
8
At Lombard Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Canterbury Road 0.5 miles20
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
9
Turn left into London Road 0.4 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
10
Turn right into Brigstock Road 0.8 miles 30
11
Turn right into High Street 0.3 miles 30
12
Turn left into Whitehorse Lane 0.7 miles 30
13
Turn left into South Norwood Hill 0.5 miles 30
14
Turn right into Church Road 0.5 miles 30
15
Turn left into Westow Street 370 yards 30
16
Carry on into Gipsy Hill 0.6 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
17
At Paxton Green Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto South Croxted Road 0.3 miles20
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
18
Turn right into Church Approach 110 yards 20
19
Turn right into Alleyn Road 0.3 miles 20
20
Turn left into South Croxted Road 80 yards 20
21
At Paxton Green Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Dulwich Wood Park 0.3 miles20
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
22
Turn right into Farquhar Road 0.2 miles 20
23
Turn right into Jasper Road 220 yards 20
24
Turn right to stay on Jasper Road 250 yards 20
25
Turn left into Westow Hill 90 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
26
Turn right into Church Road 0.8 miles 30
27
Turn left into South Norwood Hill 0.5 miles 30
28
Turn right into Whitehorse Lane 0.7 miles 30
29
Turn right into High Street 0.3 miles 30
30
Carry on into Brigstock Road 0.8 miles 30
31
Turn right into London Road 50 yards 30
32
At Thornton Heath Pond Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Thornton Road 0.4 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
33
Turn right into Shamrock Road 210 yards 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
34
Turn left into Aurelia Road 0.3 miles 20
35
Turn right into Mitcham Road 0.4 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
36
Turn left into Red House Road 110 yards 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.

Before you drive it

Watch somebody else drive Mitcham 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 Mitcham 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.