Devon or Peak District?

This is the sharpest difference between the two. Devon has two coasts to choose from. The Atlantic side has surf and dune-backed sand at Woolacombe, Saunton and Croyde, while the south has sheltered estuary beaches and shingle coves around Salcombe, Bigbury and Blackpool Sands. The sea stays cool even in late summer, so wetsuits and short dips are the norm.

The Peak District is about as far from the sea as England gets. A summer swim there means the heated open-air pool at Hathersage or a cold dip in a river in the dales. The reservoirs are best left alone.

Devon has the edge because the sea is part of its larder. Crab from Salcombe and Dartmouth, fish landed at Brixham and mussels from the estuaries make the harbour towns of the South Hams the places to eat, and Exeter and Plymouth add a wider choice of restaurants. Clotted cream and farmhouse cider are the local signatures, though the resort seafronts lean more towards chips and ice cream.

The Peak feeds you well after a walk, with hearty pub cooking, real ale from small regional breweries, Bakewell pudding and Hartington cheese, and a few country-house dining rooms at the top end. The range is narrower, though. In a small village the evening choice may come down to one or two pubs, and these fill up on summer weekends.

The Peak District has the richer heritage. Chatsworth is among the finest country houses in England, and medieval Haddon Hall survives almost intact. Eyam's plague story and the Cromford mills, where the factory age began, add real historical weight, and Buxton's Georgian Crescent is a set piece in its own right.

Devon's finest single sight is Exeter Cathedral, with its great Gothic vault, and Plymouth's Barbican and Mayflower Steps add maritime history. Beyond those, the county offers pleasant country houses such as Castle Drogo and Killerton, and old towns such as Dartmouth and Totnes, spread over a much larger area.

Neither suits late nights, but Devon at least has cities of its own. Exeter and Plymouth have student crowds and busy weekends, with Plymouth's Barbican and Union Street the liveliest streets, and Torquay adds a few seaside bars in summer. In the Peak, the evening ends in a beamed pub full of walkers planning an early start, and anyone who wants a club has to go to Sheffield or Manchester.

Both are among England's best walking country, and the difference is the sea. Devon combines two moors, Dartmoor with its tors and Exmoor with its high sea cliffs, with the South West Coast Path along both coasts and the Jurassic Coast in the east. Its estuaries and surf beaches add sailing, paddling and surfing.

The Peak is entirely inland, but it packs two contrasting landscapes close together. The Dark Peak has gritstone moors around Kinder Scout and climbing edges such as Stanage. The White Peak has green limestone dales, with caves for potholing below them.

Devon's best days out follow the coast and the water. A river boat down the Dart links Dartmouth and Totnes, Lundy is a day's sail from Bideford or Ilfracombe, and Clovelly's cobbled street drops steeply to its harbour. Cornwall's Eden Project and Fowey lie west of Plymouth, the Dorset coast is an easy drive east, and Bath is about an hour and a half by train from Exeter. Most of these outings still mean driving in summer traffic.

The Peak's outings run the other way, towards the ring of cities around it. Manchester and Sheffield are easy by train for museums or an afternoon in town, and the Potteries lie to the west. Hardwick Hall, Kedleston Hall and Bolsover Castle sit just outside the park, and York and Chester make long but possible days.

Families do equally well in either, and the choice is between the beach and the hills and caves. Devon offers the classic seaside summer: lifeguarded sand at Woolacombe, Bigbury and Torbay, rock pools, Paignton Zoo and the National Marine Aquarium, with steam trains for wet days.

The Peak swaps the sand for show caves at Castleton and Buxton, the cable car to the Heights of Abraham and vintage trams at Crich, with Alton Towers a short drive south. In both, you will need a car and a plan for rain.

In both, a car is close to essential, though the Peak gives walkers a better alternative. The Hope Valley line stops at Edale, Hope and Hathersage, so you can step off the train straight onto the hills. Devon's main line links Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay, with a fine stretch along the sea wall at Dawlish, but the moor and many of the best beaches lie well beyond the stations.

On the roads, Devon's single-track lanes between high hedges make for harder driving. The Peak's moorland roads are steep and winding instead, and its busiest villages, such as Castleton and Bakewell, run out of parking on sunny weekends.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Devon has more to browse. Totnes has a steep high street of independent and alternative shops, Dartmouth and Salcombe have galleries, Honiton has antiques, and Exeter and Plymouth cover the chains.

The Peak's buys are practical or local: outdoor kit in Hathersage, Blue John jewellery from the hills around Castleton, and Bakewell's weekly market. In both, a farm shop is the best place to find something to take home.

The Peak District is the easier place to keep costs down. Youth hostels, bunkhouses and campsites are spread across the park, and its main attraction, the hills, costs nothing. Entry to several stately homes and caves does add up for a family.

Devon is pricier during the school summer break, especially in harbour towns such as Salcombe and the surf villages on the north coast. Staying in Torbay, Plymouth or inland, or coming in spring or autumn, narrows the gap a good deal.

Both offer a good evening out rather than a reason to travel. Devon's stages are in its cities, chiefly Plymouth's Theatre Royal, one of England's largest regional theatres, along with the Northcott in Exeter and choral evensong in the cathedral. The Peak puts almost everything in Buxton, where the Frank Matcham opera house and the July festival of opera and classical music, with its fringe, make the town worth timing a visit around.

The Peak District has the spa history that Devon lacks. Buxton grew up around its warm mineral springs, its Georgian Crescent holds a spa that uses the natural water, and you can fill a bottle at St Ann's Well. Country-house hotels in the dales add their own spas.

Devon's way to unwind is cooler and saltier: spa hotels on the cliff tops, the Art Deco Tinside Lido below Plymouth Hoe, and a strong habit of swimming in south-coast coves all year round. Both are at their calmest away from the busy summer weekends.