A late addition to Cycle Orbital, and not recommended in winter or bad weather, except on off-road bikes. It is incorporated for the opportunity to ride a section of Roman road - Stane Street - the only portion to be a designated Scheduled Monument, from Thirty Acres Barn, Ashtead to Mickleham Downs.
Peeling SW off from Spoke 5 link at Horton Lane roundabout, cross Christ Church Road 0.3 and follow Thames Down Link signs on excellent paths through Epsom and then Ashtead Common. Cross railway (Stop Look Listen) 1.7 then A24 briefly before entering Ashtead Park 2.2.
A short on-road section follows before you climb on a wide wooded bridleway* to meet Stane Street (London Bridge to Chichester) 4.2 in its most preserved section until the South Downs. Enjoy an iconic moment as you (the Roman legionary) cross the M25 4.4. The going from now is straight (obviously) but can be rough, slippery and steep; in wet conditions you may be walking in places (sinister, dexter, sinister, dexter…), but Mickleham Downs are wonderfully secluded and the experience is like no other section of Cycle Orbital. Rejoin Arc 7 at Juniper Hall.
*However, if you do not have the bike or tyres (or legs) to endure what is to come, there is a fine and legitimate long-ish detour via Leatherhead: at the byway crossroads 4 R for an off-road descent, crossing M25 and then A24 (with care); L at roundabout to Leatherhead town centre; L and soon pick up a roadside cycle track - dating from 1938, and one of the best examples of the early protected cycleways of 1934-40, even though it is not as wide or well-maintained now - beside the A24 trunk road, until L for Mickleham village. Up and over and you arrive at Juniper Hall, to be reunited with Stane Street, which has descended sharply to the junction, and to Arc 7 just before the turn L for the Box Hill Zigzag.
