Best places to practise driving in Horsham with your parents
Here are free practice routes around Horsham for learner drivers and the family members who help them with extra private practice. They range from very quiet nursery routes to residential beginner loops, faster rural intermediate routes and advanced Crawley test routes for test-ready learners, designed to build confidence in real driving conditions. More routes will be added soon.
Before You Start: Legal Requirements for Private Practice
Private practice with a family member is a proven way to gain road sense, but strict UK legal requirements apply whenever a learner is at the wheel.
- Provisional driving licence: The learner driver must hold a valid UK provisional licence before taking the wheel.
- Insurance cover: The car must be properly insured for the learner driver to drive it. This includes driving in car parks as well as on public roads.
- Supervising driver rules: The person supervising must be over 21 years old and have held a full driving licence for at least 3 years.
- L-plates and equipment: You must display red L-plates (or D-plates in Wales) on the front and rear of the vehicle, and provide an extra interior rear-view mirror for the supervising passenger.
“You still need a provisional licence and need to be insured to drive in these car parks. The person supervising must be over 21 with 3 years' driving experience. Please make sure that you comply with the law.”
Please remember that private car parks have their own rules, time limits and parking terms. Be considerate of property owners, keep noise down, and follow any posted signs.
Why I Recommend a Professional ADI or PDI Instructor
I recommend these routes for extra practice with a parent or family member only; I do not recommend that parents teach their child to drive from scratch.
Learning to drive safely requires structured, expert guidance. Here is why starting with an approved professional makes such a significant difference:
Dual controls keep you safe
A family car has no dual controls. An instructor's car is equipped with a second brake and clutch pedal, meaning the instructor can intervene instantly if something goes wrong. In a standard family car, a parent has no physical way to stop the vehicle in an emergency.
Trained in coaching and spotting faults
Qualified ADI and PDI instructors are specifically trained in modern driver coaching methods, road safety pedagogy and diagnosing the root cause of driving faults before bad habits set in. Parents are usually experienced drivers, but they are not trained driving educators.
Avoiding family friction and stress
Children don't normally listen to their parents the way they do an instructor. In the passenger seat, well-meaning advice often sounds like criticism, leading to tension, arguments and a sudden loss of confidence for the learner.
The best approach: learn the skills with a professional instructor first, then use these Horsham routes to practise, consolidate and build confidence between lessons.
How the Levels Work
Practising in the wrong environment too soon creates anxiety. We split practice routes into structured progression levels so learners build competence step by step.
Very quiet roads and car parks for learning the controls, moving off, stopping, steering and basic positioning.
Residential roads with simple junctions, parked cars, meeting situations and emerging.
Rural roads, higher speeds and longer routes, building towards test-standard driving.
The Crawley driving test routes, for learners the instructor has said are test ready.
Please note: The hours mentioned above are guides only. Every learner progresses at their own pace. More beginner, intermediate and advanced routes will be added soon.
Nursery Routes: Quiet Roads and Car Parks for First Practice in Horsham
When you first get behind the wheel, traffic and complex junctions only cause stress. These three nursery locations give you wide, open spaces and whisper-quiet asphalt to master the pedals, steering and gears.
Old Brighton Road, Pease Pottage, Crawley, RH11 9AJ (runs parallel to the A23)
A wide, straight, exceptionally quiet stretch running parallel to the A23. Ideal for nervous learners sitting behind the wheel for the first time, getting used to the cockpit drill, clutch bite point, gentle acceleration and stopping smoothly.
Suits Lessons 1–4 (cockpit drill, controls, moving off and stopping, steering).
Worthing Road (off the B2237), Hop Oast, Horsham, RH13 0AR
A gentle closed loop surface at Hop Oast Park and Ride. Provides ample space to practise moving off, stopping in gear, low-speed clutch control and smooth steering input in a low-pressure environment.
Suits Lessons 1–4 (controls, moving off and stopping, steering).
Wickhurst Ln, Broadbridge Heath, Horsham, RH12 3YU
Route map coming soon
An illustrative map tile for this location will be added shortly.
A spacious retail car park on the western edge of Horsham. Excellent for low-speed car handling, reversing into bays and clutch bite point practice during off-peak hours.
This is a busy shop car park, so choose quiet times (such as late Sunday afternoon or weekday evenings) and always watch out for pedestrians, shoppers and stray trolleys.
Suits Lessons 1–4 (controls, moving off and stopping, steering).
Instructor reminder: These practice routes are for supplementary practice with a family member only; professional ADI or PDI instruction is strongly recommended to learn proper technique safely.
Beginner Routes: Residential Loops in Horsham for Junctions, Roundabouts and Meeting Traffic
Once a learner can confidently move off, stop and steer, residential loops introduce real-world road skills: turning left and right, emerging at T-junctions, navigating crossroads, tackling your first roundabouts, and judging meeting situations with parked cars.
Start: Tylden Way, Horsham, RH12 5JB
Turn-by-turn directions:
- Start at Tylden Way
- Turn left into Bartholomew Way
- Turn left into Lemmington Way
- Turn left into Rusper Road
- Turn left back into Tylden Way (the start point)
Residential roads: watch carefully for pedestrians, children playing, cyclists and parked cars.
Suits Lessons 5–8 (turning left and right into side roads, emerging at T-junctions, crossroads) plus Lessons 4A, 5A, 8A, A1, A2.
Pondtail Road, North Heath area, Horsham
Turn-by-turn directions:
- Start at Pondtail Road
- Turn left into Ashley Road
- Turn left into North Heath Lane (the first closed T-junction / crossroads)
- Turn right into Dutchells Copse
- Turn left onto Giblets Way
- Turn right at the roundabout onto Pondtail Road
What makes this loop trickier
The routes are getting trickier. This route has a mini roundabout, a narrow bridge passing place on Pondtail Road, and a crossroads at the end of Ashley Road that is a closed junction (we mean poor visibility, and you might have to "peep and creep" for the first time). So whilst it is still a quiet area to practise, there are lots of things to learn about.
There is a pelican crossing to talk about on North Heath Lane, and you go past two schools, so talk about schools and take extra care at morning school drop-off and afternoon pick-up.
Residential roads: watch carefully for pedestrians, children, cyclists and parked cars on both sides.
Suits Lessons 5–8 (turning left and right into side roads, emerging at T-junctions, crossroads) plus Lessons 4A, 5A, 8A, A1, A2.
Pondtail Road, North Heath area, Horsham
Turn-by-turn directions:
- Start in Pondtail Road
- Turn left, first exit, at the roundabout into Parsonage Road
- Turn left, first exit, at the roundabout into North Heath Lane
- Turn left, first exit, at the roundabout into Giblets Way
- Turn left, first exit, at the roundabout back to your start point on Pondtail Road
What makes this loop special
This loop has six roundabouts in all: four simple roundabouts and two mini-roundabouts. It is a quiet area and pretty easy for a beginner to practise.
Once your learner has mastered left-hand turns, the route can be reversed to practise right-hand, third-exit turns.
Quiet residential roads, but still watch for pedestrians, cyclists and parked cars, and give way to traffic already on each roundabout.
Suits Lessons 15 and 16 (mini-roundabouts and normal roundabouts).
Pondtail Road, North Heath area, Horsham
Turn-by-turn directions:
- Start in Pondtail Road
- Continue straight down Pondtail Road, straight ahead at the first and second mini roundabouts, and then turn left into Ashley Road
- Go straight ahead at the crossroads (a blind, closed crossroads: peep and creep)
- At the end of the road, turn right onto Richmond Road
- At the end of the road, turn left onto Hurst Road (a closed junction)
- At the end of the road, turn left, first exit, at the roundabout by the train station onto North Street
- At the end of the road, go straight ahead onto Kings Road
- Go straight ahead at the roundabout onto Crawley Road
- At the end of the road, at the traffic lights, turn left onto Crawley Road
- Turn left onto Lamb's Farm Road
- At the end of the road, turn right onto Rusper Road
- At the end of the road, turn left onto Giblets Way
- At the end of the road, turn right, second exit, at the roundabout onto Pondtail Road (back at your start point)
What makes this loop trickier
This is the first loop with traffic lights and busier roads. The first crossroads, at Ashley Road, is a blind, closed crossroads, so you will need to peep and creep. There are traffic lights at the end of Crawley Road.
Crawley Road has narrow passing places, so be ready to hold back and give way. There are also lots of roundabouts, which give a good chance to practise going straight ahead.
Busier roads than the earlier loops: watch for traffic on Crawley Road, narrow passing places, pedestrians, cyclists and parked cars, and give way to traffic already on each roundabout.
Suits Lessons 8, 14, 15 and 16 (crossroads, traffic lights, mini-roundabouts and normal roundabouts).
Instructor reminder: These practice routes are for supplementary practice with a family member only; professional ADI or PDI instruction is strongly recommended to learn proper technique safely.
Intermediate Routes: Rural Roads and Higher Speeds Around Horsham
Once a learner is confident on residential loops, intermediate routes introduce faster rural roads, national speed limit roads, bends, changing speed limits, dual carriageways and longer drives.
Start: Forest Road, Horsham, RH12 4HJ
Turn-by-turn directions:
- Start on Forest Road and proceed ahead unless road signs or markings say otherwise.
- At the end of Forest Road, at the roundabout, turn right onto London Road.
- Follow London Road straight ahead through the next two roundabouts and on through Handcross village.
- Just after Handcross, turn right towards Horsham and Lower Beeding onto Horsham Road.
- Follow Horsham Road straight ahead until road signs or markings say otherwise, until you reach a right-hand bend where you turn right towards Horsham into Sandygate Lane.
- At the T-junction at the end of the road, turn right into Brighton Road.
- Follow Brighton Road straight ahead until you reach Tesco Express on your right-hand side, then turn right into St Leonards Road.
- Go straight ahead over two mini-roundabouts; the road name changes to Comptons Lane.
- At the end of Comptons Lane, turn right at the roundabout, fourth exit, onto Harwood Road.
- Go ahead unless road signs or markings say otherwise until you reach the second set of traffic lights (the first set is a pelican crossing; the second is the main Roffey crossroads).
- Turn right at the Roffey crossroads back to your starting point on Forest Road.
What makes this route different
This is the first speed increase up to the national speed limit. There are sharp bends where the learner will need to brake and change down a gear if driving a manual.
The first time you drive this route, we recommend your learner does not go over 40 mph. As they gain confidence, and once they are test ready, they will need to build speed on the open road sections to near the speed limit.
There are numerous speed limits on this route: 30, 40, 50 and 60 mph. Help your learner look out for the signs and brake down in good time, and talk about the road markings.
Longer route: use the GPX file
This is a longer 15-mile route, so it is worth downloading the GPX file and installing it on a TomTom sat nav or in a sat nav app on your phone.
To download the GPX file on the Strava website, click the down-arrow button next to the Edit button to expand the menu, then click Export GPX.
Higher-speed rural roads: expect sharp bends, changing speed limits, cyclists, horse riders and oncoming traffic on narrow stretches. Only build speed as your learner gets confident.
Suits Lessons 9, 11, 12, 14, 16 and 19 (advanced gear changing, meeting oncoming traffic, passing parked vehicles, traffic lights, normal roundabouts, country roads and rural driving).
What makes this route different
We would not recommend that your learner goes up to 70 mph. 50 to 60 mph is fine for a first try on these roads. Please ask your learner to keep to 50 mph at first, until their confidence to brake and slow down grows.
It is very important to stick to your lane on the roundabouts. As with Intermediate Route 1, if you use the sat nav for directions, you can help your learner look out for road signs and markings and make sure they move into the correct lane in good time.
Longer route: use the GPX file
This route is about 20 miles long, which is too long for turn-by-turn directions. We recommend downloading the GPX file from Strava and installing it on a mobile phone or a TomTom Start sat nav. See the free GPX apps below, the same as for Intermediate Route 1.
Higher speeds and busy multi-lane roundabouts: build speed slowly, watch for lane signs and road markings in good time, and leave plenty of room to brake.
Suits Lessons 16, 17, 18 and 19 (normal roundabouts, large and spiral roundabouts, dual carriageways, country roads and rural driving).
What makes this route different
This route goes through the town centre for the first time. Expect busy dual carriageway town roads, lots of traffic lights with filter lanes, and some roads with tight passing spaces in Highlands Avenue and Comptons Lane.
Longer route: use the GPX file
This route is too long for turn-by-turn instructions, so we recommend installing a free GPX app on your phone or adding the route file to a TomTom Start 52 sat nav. See the free GPX apps below, the same as for Intermediate Routes 1 and 2.
To download the GPX file on Strava, click the down-arrow button next to the Edit button.
Busy town centre traffic: watch for traffic lights with filter lanes, choose your lane in good time, and expect tight passing places where you may need to hold back for oncoming traffic.
Suits Lessons 11, 12, 14 and 18 (meeting oncoming traffic, passing parked vehicles, traffic lights, dual carriageways).
What makes this route different
Intermediate Route 4 covers areas of Horsham not yet covered by the other routes. It includes tighter, narrow roads with space for only one car, so your learner will need to use the hold back position, the procedures for meeting traffic and the priority rules for giving way.
Longer route: use the GPX file
This route is too long for turn-by-turn instructions, so we recommend installing a free GPX app on your phone or adding the route file to a TomTom Start 52 sat nav. See the free GPX apps below, the same as for Intermediate Routes 1, 2 and 3.
To download the GPX file on Strava, click the down-arrow button next to the Edit button.
Single-car-width roads: look well ahead for passing places, hold back early, and be clear about who has priority before you commit. Be ready to stop or reverse to a gap if a driver coming the other way has priority.
Suits Lessons 11, 12 and 19 (meeting oncoming traffic, passing parked vehicles, country roads and rural driving).
Instructor reminder: These practice routes are for supplementary practice with a family member only; professional ADI or PDI instruction is strongly recommended to learn proper technique safely.
Advanced Routes: Practising the Crawley Test Routes
Advanced practice means driving the real Crawley driving test routes. Parents can download the GPX files for the Crawley test routes (free Garmin Connect links on the Crawley test routes page) and spend time practising them with their learner.
Only once your instructor says your learner is test ready
Learners will usually have had at least 45 hours of practice in total (often around 67 hours) before they are ready for these routes. Attempting these advanced test routes before your learner is ready would cause difficulty, and without dual controls in your car it leads to increased risk. Wait until the instructor has said the learner is test ready.
How to practise safely
- Download the GPX files for the Crawley test routes and follow them on a phone or sat nav
- Practise at quiet times of the day
- Avoid rush hour and other busy times
Instructor reminder: These practice routes are for supplementary practice with a family member only; professional ADI or PDI instruction is strongly recommended to learn proper technique safely.
Tips for Supervising Extra Practice
Supervising a learner driver is rewarding, but it requires patience and clear communication. Here is practical safety advice to make every private session constructive and enjoyable:
Keep sessions calm and short
30 to 45 minutes of focused driving is plenty for beginners. Long sessions cause fatigue and cognitive overload.
Choose quiet times of the day
Sunday mornings, early evenings or mid-morning outside school run hours offer much calmer road conditions.
Stay on the planned routes
Stick strictly to the nursery and beginner loops you agreed beforehand so there are no unexpected surprises.
Stop if the learner is tired or flustered
If frustration or tiredness sets in, pull over safely, swap seats, and head home without criticism.
Practise skills already taught by their instructor
Only reinforce routines (such as DSSSM, POM and MSPSL) that their professional instructor has already introduced.
Let the instructor know what you practised
Keep a quick note of what went well and any areas of uncertainty so the instructor can review them on the next lesson.
Keep a calm, measured tone
Learners sense passenger stress immediately. Speak in a quiet, measured voice, give instructions early, and stay supportive.
Practising Driving in Horsham: Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions answered for Horsham parents and learner drivers planning private practice sessions.
Continue Your Journey
Explore our free resources designed to help learner drivers and their families pass the driving test with confidence.
Work through structured online lessons covering controls, junctions, roundabouts and manoeuvres step by step.
A complete guide for parents covering how to structure practice, communicate calmly, and support your child effectively.
Essential advice on what to look for when choosing an instructor in Horsham, including ADI and PDI qualifications.