Snooping around: Homes on brownfield sites

Property of the week: Lynmouth. Step out of the front door of this end-of-terrace property and you are overhanging the rushing waters of the East Lyn river. Look backwards, and National Trust woodland looms. You can ramble exquisitely without having to get the car out. The renovated cottage boasts an en suite to the master bedroom, two further bedrooms, a shower room and two cast-iron fireplaces, but no back garden. Price: £360,000.
Jackson-Stops & Staff, 01271 377833 Photograph: Jackson-Stops & Staff/Jackson-Stops & Staff

Wreck of the week: Downham Market, Norfolk. This enormous gothic-style vicarage has held on to its original shuttered sash windows and fireplaces since it was built in Victorian times. With five bedrooms, five reception rooms, a conservatory and triple garaging, it will take at least £20,000 to cheer it up cosmetically - that's on top of the £375,000 price tag.
Bedfords, 01328 730500 Photograph: Bedfords/Bedfords

Take three: brownfield developments. You can see the river from the balconies of many the two- and three-bedroom apartments in this development in Mast Quay in Woolwich, London - when you're not making use of the block's communal roof garden. Granite worktops, hardwood floors and climate control are now the order of the day on land that was once part of Henry VIII's dry docks and, more recently, a depot for concrete and aggregates. Cost: from £285,000.
Knight Frank, 020-7473 6820. Photograph: Knight Frank/Knight Frank

Take three: brownfield developments. The Printworks in Lewes, Sussex, were first replaced by a factory. Now they have been redeveloped into an easy-on-the-eye "village" with homes going for upwards of £250,000. Twelve of the one- to four-bedroom properties perch on top of their own glass-fronted work units. All share a communal garden, and limited parking, and there are private plots for the lucky few. Underfloor heating and wi-fi add to the package.
Clifford Dann, 01273 477022 Photograph: Clifford Dann/Clifford Dann

Take three: brownfield developments. These 1,100 flats, shops, cafes and casino rise joyously on the riverside on what used to be the car park for the Royal Armouries next door. Wealthier residents front on to the water where moorings are available. It’s a 10-minute walk from Clarence Dock to Leeds central station; less to the city centre, but the infrastructure is still a work in progress. Prices start at £118,000.
Knight Frank, 0113 244 4455. Photograph: Knight Frank/Knight Frank