Watford

Somewhere real to practise

2 circuits from the test centre on Watford test centre, from DVSA's centre file, each one 31 minutes or more, taking in the junctions a Watford 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 Watford 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 Bushey Mill Lane and Park Avenue roundabout → the Aldenham Road and Bushey Hall Road roundabout → the Chalk Hill and Eastbury Road roundabout → the Beechen Grove and Stephenson Way roundabout → the Aldenham Road and Bushey Hall Road roundabout

Bushey Arches and Stephenson Way

By Park Avenue and Bushey Hall to Aldenham Road and the Bushey Arches roundabout, round the edge of the town centre on Waterfields Way and up Stephenson Way, then home through the back streets. Nine roundabouts.

7.6 milesabout 41 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 Bushey Grove Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, the residential stretch between Bushey Hall Road and the Aldenham Road roundabout
Pick a gap clear of driveways. Mirrors, signal, blind spot, and move off only when the road behind is clear.
Directions for the passenger, leg 19 steps
1. 1
  Start on the test centre access road 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Otterspool Way 170 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Park Avenue 0.3 miles
4. 4
  At the Bushey Mill Lane and Park Avenue roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Park Avenue 0.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn left to stay on Park Avenue 250 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Park Avenue 0.3 miles
  
  Turn right through the short link road first.
7. 7
  Carry on into Greatham Road 320 yards
8. 8
  Turn left into Bushey Hall Road 60 yards
9. 9
  Turn right into Bushey Grove Road 270 yards
10. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 2 · 1.2 milesTo Watford Arches Retail Park car park Open inGoogle Maps

Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards

Off Dalton Way, just after you turn in from Lower High Street
Go slowly round the car park, watch for people walking between cars, and pick a bay away from the busy end.
Directions for the passenger, leg 26 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Bushey Grove Road 340 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Aldenham Road 0.5 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Pinner Road 180 yards
4. 4
  At the Chalk Hill and Eastbury Road roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Lower High Street 180 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5. 5
  Turn left into Dalton Way 230 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Watford Arches Retail Park car park.
7. Stop here: Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards.
Leg 3 · 2.5 milesTo Bendysh Road Open inGoogle Maps

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

Residential Bushey, just off William Street, houses on both sides
This leg takes in Stephenson Way and three roundabouts before it. Take the parking slowly and stay clear of the William Street junction.
Directions for the passenger, leg 311 steps
1. 1
  Drive out of Watford Arches Retail Park car park slowly, watching for people walking between the cars.
2. 2
  Turn right into Dalton Way 260 yards
3. 3
  Carry on into Waterfields Way 230 yards
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Waterfields Way 0.3 miles
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5. 5
  At the Beechen Grove and Stephenson Way roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Stephenson Way 0.7 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Colonial Way 200 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
7. 7
  At the Colonial Way and Radlett Road roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Radlett Road 0.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
8. 8
  Turn left into Link Road 380 yards
9. 9
  Turn right into Park Avenue 0.3 miles
10. 10
  Turn left into William Street 150 yards
11. 11
  Turn right into Bendysh Road 50 yards
12. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then parallel park behind a parked car.
Leg 4 · 0.7 milesTo Grange Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, just after you turn off The Avenue
A narrow road with cars parked along it. Move off, then turn right into Heathfield Road for the run home.
Directions for the passenger, leg 44 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Bendysh Road 190 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Bushey Hall Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  At the Aldenham Road and Bushey Hall Road roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto The Avenue 0.2 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  Turn right into Grange Road 80 yards
5. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 5 · 1.5 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 58 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Grange Road 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Heathfield Road 0.2 miles
3. 3
  Turn right into Aldenham Road 150 yards
4. 4
  At the Aldenham Road and Bushey Hall Road roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Aldenham Road 240 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
5. 5
  At the Aldenham Road and Marlborough Drive roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Aldenham Road 0.6 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
6. 6
  Carry on into Hartspring Lane 0.3 miles
7. 7
  Turn right into Otterspool Way 170 yards
8. 8
  Turn left into the test centre.
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 · the Bushey Mill Lane and Park Avenue roundabout → the Colonial Way and Radlett Road roundabout → Orphanage Road → the Beechen Grove and Stephenson Way roundabout → the Aldenham Road and Marlborough Drive roundabout

Radlett Road and Orphanage Road

By Park Avenue to Radlett Road and all the way round its roundabout, into the narrow streets around Orphanage Road, then down to Bushey Arches and home by Aldenham Road. Nine roundabouts.

5.8 milesabout 34 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 · 1.6 milesTo Timberlake Car Park Open inGoogle Maps

Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards

Off Radlett Road by the playing fields, just before the Colonial Way roundabout
A public car park, so check the signs for any charge. Take it slowly and watch for people walking to the pitches.
Directions for the passenger, leg 19 steps
1. 1
  Start on the test centre access road 60 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Otterspool Way 170 yards
3. 3
  Turn right into Park Avenue 0.3 miles
4. 4
  At the Bushey Mill Lane and Park Avenue roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Park Avenue 0.4 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn left to stay on Park Avenue 290 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Link Road 380 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Radlett Road 0.2 miles
8. 8
  At the Colonial Way and Radlett Road roundabout, take the 4th exit onto Radlett Road 60 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
9. 9
  Turn right into Timberlake Car Park.
10. Stop here: Reverse bay park, then drive out forwards.
Leg 2 · 1.1 milesTo Grosvenor Road Open inGoogle Maps

Pull up on the left, then move off again

On the route, the residential stretch between Gladstone Road and Beechen Grove
Beechen Grove comes next, a busy one-way road. Read the lane markings and get in lane early.
Directions for the passenger, leg 28 steps
1. 1
  Drive out of Timberlake Car Park slowly, watching for people walking between the cars.
2. 2
  Turn left into Radlett Road 0.3 miles
3. 3
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Orphanage Road
  Approach in the right lane, signal right, then signal left once you pass the exit before yours.
4. 4
  At the Orphanage Road roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Orphanage Road 140 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Turn left into Sotheron Road 360 yards
6. 6
  Turn right into Prince Street 130 yards
7. 7
  Turn right into Gladstone Road 90 yards
8. 8
  Turn right into Grosvenor Road 120 yards
9. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then move off again.
Leg 3 · 1.7 milesTo Woodlands Road Open inGoogle Maps

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

The third exit at the Aldenham Road and Bushey Grove Road roundabout
Use forward and reverse to turn round, keeping it to as few moves as you need, and finish facing back towards the roundabout for the run home.
Directions for the passenger, leg 39 steps
1. 1
  Check your mirrors and blind spot, then move off along Grosvenor Road 150 yards
2. 2
  Turn left into Beechen Grove 0.2 miles
3. 3
  At the Beechen Grove and Stephenson Way roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Waterfields Way 0.3 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
4. 4
  At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Waterfields Way 250 yards
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Carry on into Lower High Street 190 yards
6. 6
  Turn left to stay on Lower High Street 210 yards
7. 7
  At the Chalk Hill and Eastbury Road roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Chalk Hill 180 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 Aldenham Road 0.4 miles
9. 9
  Turn right into Woodlands Road 140 yards
10. Stop here: Pull up on the left, then turn the car round in the road.
Leg 4 · 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 47 steps
1. 1
  Facing back the way you came in, drive along Woodlands Road to the end 140 yards
2. 2
  Turn right into Aldenham Road 280 yards
3. 3
  At the Aldenham Road and Bushey Hall Road roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Aldenham Road 240 yards
  No signal on the approach. Keep left unless the markings say otherwise, then signal left after the exit before yours.
4. 4
  At the Aldenham Road and Marlborough Drive roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Aldenham Road 0.6 miles
  Approach in the left lane and signal left.
5. 5
  Carry on into Hartspring Lane 0.3 miles
6. 6
  Turn right into Otterspool Way 170 yards
7. 7
  Turn left into the test centre.
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 Watford 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 Watford route videos

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

Watford · free

Is your Watford 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 Watford who wants the opposite moves both of you, and DVSA does it over the phone. DVSA's median wait from booking to test at Watford was 15.1 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.