It hosts an arts festival in July,[1] and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs.

[2] The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the River Lew to raise money for local good causes, this tradition which started in the 1980s came to end on 1 January 2018.

An annual half-marathon called the Ruby Run takes place usually in June between Holsworthy and Hatherleigh, starting from each town in alternate years.

[4] An impressive obelisk one mile (1.6 km) east of the town commemorates Lt Col. William Morris (d. 1858 in India): it was built in 1860.

However residents can use the nearby railway station in Okehampton now that the Dartmoor Line has reopened with regular services to Exeter.

These two towns were at the centre of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak, and although agriculture was directly affected, most local businesses suffered considerable financial hardship.