This mainly rural area runs north along the valley of the River Dove following the A50 trunk road from Uttoxeter to Mayfield on the edge of the Peak District.

The Dove forms the eastern border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire and the valley is home to the villages of Stramshall, Rocester, Denstone, Ellestone, Wootton, Stanton and Mayfield.

The area is also the home of one of the county's largest employers, the internationally known JCB Excavators, whose world headquarters are at Rocester.