Hi John,
You are leagally allowed to drive a car to & from a MOT test without either valid MOT or road tax.
However you do need insurance cover.
The Mot must be pre-booked in the registration number of the vehicle being tested.
I asked at my local VOSSA test centre recently if the MOT has to be booked at the nearest garage.
I was told that you can book the test at any garage of your choice. No maximum distance is specified.
He did elaborate to say that the police may take a different view if the distance is excessive.
It would be awfull if you booked a test at you local garage & broke down outside your house on the way there.