In reaching Bear Flat from the centre of Bath, the original route was up the steep lane of Holloway (either the 'holy way', or a way hollowed out as it climbs around the shoulder of Lyncombe Hill).

In the nineteenth century, another route out of the city centre to Bear Flat was constructed, an early example of a by-pass with slightly gentler slope.

Holloway has been closed to traffic at the northern end since the late 1960s, when the area was extensively and quite controversially redeveloped during a period in the immediate post war decades known as The Sack of Bath.

The main estate of Poets' Corner is a late Victorian and Edwardian district of large terraced houses and forms a part of the wider City of Bath conservation area.

During the Second World War, Bear Flat was targeted in the 'Baedeker' raids on the city of Bath, and damage was done to the area near the junction of the Wellsway and Holloway.

There are a number of bed and breakfast businesses attracted by the convenient access to the city centre, together with a double glazing showroom and building company on the east side of the Wellsway.

Each year a large group of local artists and crafts people, including painters, potters/ceramicists, sculptors, jewellers and photographers organise an Open Studios event over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.

As well as providing a focal point for representing residents’ views and concerns, BFA takes initiatives, such as setting up festive lighting around Bear Flat's local shops for the first time, creating a community garden at a prominent road junction, and renovating a listed Victorian fountain.

BFA has published a vision paper for its high street as a yardstick for local planners, aiming to make Bear Flat less of a highway and more of a village centre.