Lithographically fabricated nanowires are a promising alternative to Josephson tunnel junctions as a nonlinear element in superconducting quantum circuits. They potentially offer low intrinsic loss, a high impedance, and simple fabrication. In the superconducting regime, a key requirement for these wires is a high kinetic inductance stemming from a low normal state conductance. We study single high ohmic nanowires made from disordered oxidised aluminium with a new technique, which allows us to alter the the wire resistance in situ by two orders of magnitude. We present low temperature coherence measurements as well as transport properties. Here we observe the insulating, metallic and superconducting regime.