Living in The Wharf District

Twenty years ago the Wharf District was a fenced-off stretch of empty mills and silted canal. Today it is the postcode that sells Calderton to outsiders: restored warehouse conversions and sharp new buildings facing each other across a working basin, with the towpath carrying commuters, runners and weekend crowds in roughly equal measure.

The Wharf Food Hall anchors the area - a dozen independent kitchens under one cast-iron roof - with waterside bars, a bakery and a Sunday market strung along the basin. Stock splits between conversions such as The Boilerhouse, Granary Court and Quayside Mills, and newer landmark buildings led by Meridian Wharf at the head of the water.

Buyers here are a mix of professionals working in the city core, downsizers trading garden maintenance for a view, and investors who like the rental depth. One-bedroom flats start in the high £160,000s, conversion two-beds run £280,000 to £350,000, and the penthouses set the city's price ceiling.