Larne hailed as UK's best place to take driving test: England could never match it, says motoring YouTube star
A motoring expert thinks he’s found the greatest driving test route in the entire UK – Larne.
Francis Noakes is on a quest to put pedal to the metal on all road circuits used for exams in the British Isles for his popular YouTube channel, Driving School TV.
In a video posted this week the London-based social media star hit up Larne, where he was blown away by the natural beauty of the Co Antrim town’s scenic Causeway Coastal Route as well the flexible nature of the test circuit itself, its combination of urban and rural settings and multiple speed limit changes offering the best place he’s yet found to put novice drivers through their paces.
“The roads are peaceful, the scenery is stunning, and honestly it’s the complete opposite of what I’m used to in England,” he states, adding that the route amounted to “one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever experienced”.
Francis, a driving instructor who offers online tips and lessons helping learners pass the practical section of their exams, was also mightily impressed by a stretch of the Newtownards test route that passes along the shore of Co Down’s Strangford Lough – but his Larne jaunt put even that in the shade.
Beginning in the town’s Driver and Vehicle Agency test centre, he labels the town centre “not tricky” and it’s not until he gets to its outskirts that he truly becomes taken with the area.
Emerging onto the Coastal Route itself, lush greenery to one side and the wide expanse of the Irish Sea to the other, Francis excitedly reacts: “Oh my days – this is your driving test, are you joking? Larne just got infinite, infinite area points.
"This? England could never. I’m telling you now, Southend’s got nothing on this. This is insane.”
But it’s the approach to the landmark Black Arch tunnel that really stuns the YouTuber, stating: “This is mad. I’ve looked up this Coastal Route before, and I know that this is a spot – but that is insane. That is on your driving test over here? Residents of Larne, you are very lucky; Northern Ireland, you are very lucky.
“If it’s your test, your licence is on the line and you’re not going to look at any of this, but the benefit is it’s really calming.”
He also appreciates the circuit’s combination of town centre and countryside areas with 30mph and 40mph speed limits, stating it’s a much better place to learn than his native London’s increasingly commonplace 20mph zones.
He says: “You can’t teach people to drive at 20, they get out of London and they can’t drive at 30 or 40. These roads would scare the pants off someone who’s only learned to drive off London roads.
“But here you really prepare people for everything they’re going to experience.”
And in what may be a surprising comment for many of the province’s motorists, he was full of praise for the condition of local roads and streets, stating: “I haven’t seen one faded road marking and if you can show me a pothole in Northern Ireland, I’ll give you a million pounds – that’s not a real offer. But if you drive around England, pothole central; driving around here is a dream, the roads are so smooth.”