Lockside living: new apartments overlook revamped King's Cross station and a 'hidden' wildlife refuge

A home beside the Thames in central London may sound beyond your budget — but put on your walking boots and make for Regent’s Canal towpath, where a fresh wave of housing is under way.

The waterway stretches nine miles from Paddington in the west to Limehouse in the east, silently snaking through some of London’s most fashionable districts.

It wasn’t always like this. When opened in 1820, the canal skirted the edges of a then-compact city, past noisy factories and polluting coal heaps.

Now redevelopment of these derelict, formerly unloved post-industrial sites is once again changing the face of London.

Onyx Apartments looms over once-grimy King’s Cross station, now beautified, and also Camley Street Natural Park, an unexpected two-acre wildlife refuge wedged between train tracks and the canal.

Once used to store coal transported along the waterway, this spot was earmarked as a coach park but survives as a serene space where you can wander overgrown pathways, hear the twittering of birds and the rush of water running through a nearby lock, and watch colourful barge boats from the grassy verge.

Homes on the upper levels of the development have a terrific vantage point of this urban landscape, with floor-to-ceiling windows plus outdoor areas.

Prices from £910,000. Call Cushman & Wakefield on 020 3296 2222.