The tributaries of the Sence, including the Saint and Tweed, fan out over much of western Leicestershire from Charnwood Forest and Coalville in the north-east to Hinckley and almost to Watling Street in the south and south-west.

It flows westwards with a tributary stream from Coalville, past Hugglescote (GR SK424123) and Donington le Heath.

The boundary runs north-west from Orton on the Hill, through Norton juxta Twycross and Newton Burgoland, between Normanton le Heath and Heather, through Alton to Swannington.

The outcrop of these rocks gives rise to a moderately undulating landscape characterised by mixed pasture and arable agricultural use that has developed on the neutral clay soils.

Upton Ridge and Wellsborough Hill give good views of the flood plain of the lower reaches.

[9] The name seems to derive from Old English Āna-bēam, a One-Beam bridge,[10] probably the hamlet's means of crossing the stream towards Market Bosworth.

Brook Farm, west of Stoke Golding takes its name from the unnamed stream running north towards the Tweed at the foot of Ambion Hill.

[12] More likely ‘hole’ is a corruption of early English halgh; an area of flood plain enclosed by a meandering river.

[13] The name could originally have referred to the area where Richard stationed some of his troops while lodging the night at Mythe Hall.

Its relation to a branch of Redway towards Polesworth and to an ancient crossing of the Saint through Ratcliffe Culey suggests at least Iron Age origin.

Nearby on that branch, Watery Lane, was an undatable Swithland slate courseway raised above flood level demolished by the Highways Authority around 1950.

Ratcliffe Culey takes its name from the ford where the Hinckley–Mythe road was ‘cleaved’ by the Sence 100 m upstream of its confluence with the Anker.

[22] Either by coincidence or by association with the river name, All Saints is the dedication of the churches at Sheepy, Ratcliffe Culey and Nailstone in the Sence watershed.

Early in the 19th century, the formerly moated site of Mythe Hall had a mill fed by water from the Sence and discharging into the Anker.

The River Sence is fished for roach, chub, dace, perch, trout, bream tench and carp and was restocked with grayling in 2007.

[32] In practice, those rights remained with the owners of the Manor of Sheepy, though they sometimes turned a blind eye to villagers who exploited their claim.

Long grassy areas have become home for many wild mammals including field vole, shrew, stoat, rabbit and fox.

[33] In the middle reaches of the Sence around Shackerstone, Bilstone and Congerstone, fishing rights belong to Gopsall, now falling under Crown Estate, which is working in cooperation with the Environment Agency and Gopsall Fishing Club to reverse bank erosion caused by cattle poaching, land drainage, dredging and tunnelling of the river and to divert otters away from the A444.

Three modern trunk roads, largely following 18th century turnpikes, cross the area, two from north to south: the A444 Burton on Trent–Nuneaton and the A447 Ravenstone–Hinckley–Nuneaton.

It aligns with a road from Ripon, Yorkshire, to Little Chester at the River Derwent crossing to Derby, always running due south.

From Ratcliffe, it crossed the Sence 100 metres upstream of its confluence with the Anker as a cobble-bottomed ford to Mythe Hall.

[38][39] The third route, Salt Street, entered the watershed from the north-west near Norton-juxta-Twycross, passed through Twycross and crossed the Sence by Temple Mill.

Thence it crossed Wellsborough Hill to Far Coton, skirting the larger tributaries of the River Saint and Tweed, probably to Barwell.

[41] A prehistoric route follows the north-west boundary of the Sence watershed from Ravenstone, between Normanton le Heath and Heather, through Newton Nethercote, Norton juxta Twycross, Orton on the Hill, Little Warton to an ancient crossing of the Anker at Polesworth.

The continuing communication along this line into Christian times is suggested by the shared unusual dedication of their churches to the Holy Rood.

The Roman road from Leicester to Manduessedum, now Mancetter and Witherley, entered the watershed of the Saint south-east of Sutton Cheney, where it crosses Salt Street.

It is not aligned on Mancetter but joins the Watling Street 1 km further east because of the then impassable marshes between Fenny Drayton and Witherley.

The section where it crossed the poorly drained part of the Saint–Tweed river system between Sutton Cheney, Shenton, Dadlington and Stapleton has been lost and was probably an unstable causeway when constructed.

It was the longest contour canal in England, exploiting the Glacial channels between the Warwickshire Avon, the Anker, the Saint, the Sence and the Mease.

The Sence passed under the ANJR again near Hugglescote between the Charnwood Forest Railway Junction and the private siding link into the South Leicester colliery at Ellistown.