Southall

Somewhere real to practise

6 circuits from the test centre on 295 Allenby Road, Southall, each one 27 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Southall test actually uses. Turn by turn, with the roundabout exits numbered, and a manoeuvre to try on each one.

Swap your Southall 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

The two big A312 roundabouts either side of the centre, and little else. The shortest of the six by a long way and the one to drive first.

4.5 milesabout 27 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20
2
Turn left into Ruislip Road 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Kensington Road 0.5 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
Turn left into an unnamed road 0.4 miles 30?
5
At Target Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6
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.
7
Turn right into an unnamed road 200 yards 30?
8
Turn right into Yeading Lane 320 yards 30?
9
At White Hart, take the 3rd exit onto Ruislip Road 0.9 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
10
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Ruislip Road 0.2 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left. The limit here is 30 mph, down from 40.
11
Turn right into Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.

Route 2 · Target Roundabout → John Lyon Roundabout

Target and John Lyon

North from Target up to Sudbury, on roads that stay at town speeds nearly the whole way. A steady second drive once the A312 has stopped being an event.

9.7 milesabout 51 minup to 30 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20
2
Turn left into Ruislip Road 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Kensington Road 0.5 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
Turn left into an unnamed road 0.4 miles 30?
5
At Target Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto A312 310 yards30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6
Carry on into Mandeville Road 0.8 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30. Signed Church Road along the way, and it is the same road.
7
Turn right into Wood End Lane 0.2 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
8
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Whitton Avenue West 0.8 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9
Turn left into Greenford Road 0.6 miles 30?
10
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
11
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
12
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.
13
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
14
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
15
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
16
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
17
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.
18
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.9 miles 30
19
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Greenford Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
20
Turn right into The Broadway 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
21
Carry on into Ruislip Road 270 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
22
Turn left into Mornington Road 0.3 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
23
Turn right into Allenby Road 90 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 · White Hart → Target Roundabout → John Lyon Roundabout

White Hart, Target and John Lyon

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

10.4 milesabout 56 minup to 30 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20
2
Turn left into Ruislip Road 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Ruislip Road 0.9 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At White Hart, take the 4th exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5
At Target Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A312 310 yards30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
6
Carry on into Mandeville Road 0.8 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30. Signed Church Road along the way, and it is the same road.
7
Turn right into Wood End Lane 0.2 miles 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
8
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Whitton Avenue West 0.8 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9
Turn left into Greenford Road 0.6 miles 30?
10
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
11
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
12
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.
13
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
14
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
15
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
16
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
17
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.
18
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.9 miles 30
19
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Greenford Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
20
Turn right into The Broadway 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
21
Carry on into Ruislip Road 270 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
22
Turn left into Mornington Road 0.3 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
23
Turn right into Allenby Road 90 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 4 · White Hart → John Lyon Roundabout

White Hart and John Lyon

West to Yeading and then north to Sudbury, putting the two far ends of the area into one drive. Mostly a question of holding concentration once the junctions are behind you.

11.1 milesabout 54 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20
2
Turn left into Ruislip Road 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Ruislip Road 0.9 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At White Hart, take the 4th exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5
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.
6
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 270 yards 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
7
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.
8
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.
9
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.
10
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
11
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
12
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.
13
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
14
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
15
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
16
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
17
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.
18
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.9 miles 30
19
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Greenford Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
20
Turn right into The Broadway 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
21
Carry on into Ruislip Road 270 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
22
Turn left into Mornington Road 0.3 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
23
Turn right into Allenby Road 90 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 · White Hart → Target Roundabout → Hanger Lane Gyratory

White Hart, Target and Hanger Lane

Out west, back through Northolt and round Hanger Lane to finish, 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.

11.9 milesabout 50 minup to 40 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20
2
Turn left into Ruislip Road 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Ruislip Road 0.9 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
At White Hart, take the 4th exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5
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.
6
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 3.4 miles 40

The limit here is 40 mph, up from 30.
7
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.
8
At Hanger Lane Gyratory, take the 4th exit onto Western Avenue 0.4 miles40
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
9
Turn right to stay on Western Avenue 0.4 miles 40
10
Turn left into an unnamed road 180 yards 40
11
Turn right into Western Avenue 3.0 miles 40
12
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 350 yards 40
13
At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Greenford Road 0.6 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 The Broadway 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
15
Carry on into Ruislip Road 270 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
16
Turn left into Mornington Road 0.3 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
17
Turn right into Allenby Road 90 yards 20

Route 6 · Target Roundabout → White Hart → John Lyon Roundabout

The long way round by Sudbury

Both A312 roundabouts and then north to Sudbury on 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.

13.1 milesabout 60 minup to 50 mph

Open in Maps

1
Start on Allenby Road 0.5 miles 20
2
Turn left into Ruislip Road 0.2 miles 30?

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20, inferred from the map rather than a sign.
3
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Kensington Road 0.5 miles30?
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4
Turn left into an unnamed road 0.4 miles 30?
5
At Target Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Church Road 0.7 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6
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.
7
Carry on into West End Road 0.7 miles 40

Signed Ruislip Road along the way, and it is the same road.
8
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.
9
Turn right into Western Avenue 1.9 miles 50

The limit here is 50 mph, up from 30.
10
Turn left to stay on Western Avenue 0.2 miles 40

The limit here is 40 mph, down from 50.
11
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.
12
Turn right into Sudbury Hill 50 yards 30
13
Turn left into Sudbury Court Drive 0.6 miles 30
14
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.
15
Turn right into Carlton Avenue West 330 yards 20
16
Turn right into The Fairway 120 yards 20
17
Turn right into Paxford Road 0.2 miles 20
18
Turn left into The Crescent 80 yards 20
19
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.
20
Turn left into Greenford Road 1.9 miles 30
21
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Greenford Road 0.6 miles30
Approach in the left lane and signal left.
22
Turn right into The Broadway 0.2 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
23
Carry on into Ruislip Road 270 yards 30

The limit here is 30 mph, up from 20.
24
Turn left into Mornington Road 0.3 miles 20

The limit here is 20 mph, down from 30.
25
Turn right into Allenby Road 90 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 Southall 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 Southall 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.