Devon or Yorkshire Dales?

Devon wins easily, because it has a real coastline and the Dales have none. The long north coast sands at Woolacombe and Saunton face the surf. The south has gentler estuary beaches around Bigbury and Salcombe and red-cliffed resort beaches at Torbay and Sidmouth. The sea is cold, but beach days can carry a whole summer stay.

In the Dales, swimming means river pools on the Wharfe near Burnsall or under the Swale falls at Keld. It is bracing and lovely on a hot day, but the water rises quickly after rain, and the nearest sand is a long drive away.

Devon eats better, mostly because of the sea. Brixham fish, Salcombe and Dartmouth crab and estuary mussels give the South Hams harbour towns a real seafood scene. Add clotted cream, cider and the farm shops, and Exeter and Plymouth bring in a wider range.

Food in the Dales is hearty and good but narrower. There is Wensleydale cheese from Hawes, eaten with fruit cake, Masham bitter, Dales lamb and grouse-moor game, served in pubs and a few ambitious dining inns. For variety you go to Harrogate or York.

The two are close, but the heritage is quite different. Devon's highlight is Exeter Cathedral with its long Gothic vault. Plymouth adds Elizabethan streets around the Barbican and the Mayflower Steps, and Castle Drogo, Greenway and A La Ronde are among the country houses.

The Dales tell a story of castles and working land: Skipton's well-kept medieval fortress, Bolton Castle, Richmond's Norman keep, ruined abbeys and the Ribblehead Viaduct. Neither has a sight of world rank, and in both the sights are spread out.

Devon at least has two proper cities to go out in. On weekends the student crowd fills Plymouth's Barbican and Union Street and the centre of Exeter, and Torquay has a few seaside bars in summer. Elsewhere it is a pint by the harbour in Dartmouth or Salcombe.

The Dales have no clubs at all and nothing open late. Evenings mean a village pub with a fire and walkers going over the day's route, and Skipton is only slightly livelier. A real night out means driving to Leeds.

Both are first-rate for walkers, but the landscapes differ. Devon combines granite moor and sea. It has Dartmoor's tors and ponies, Exmoor's high sea cliffs and the coast path along both shores, plus surfing, estuary sailing and the Jurassic Coast cliffs near Beer.

The Dales are limestone country, with Malham Cove, Gordale Scar and limestone pavement close together. The Three Peaks make a famous long day, and Gaping Gill and Ingleton are among Britain's great caving areas. Road cyclists climb passes like the Buttertubs.

The Dales have more good days out close at hand. Fountains Abbey is about half an hour from the eastern dales and York about an hour. Durham, Haworth's Brontë parsonage, Saltaire and the Lake District are all within reach, and the Settle to Carlisle line is an outing in itself.

From Devon the choices are good but further apart. Bath is reached by train from Exeter, Cornwall's Eden Project and Fowey from Plymouth, and there are the Dart boat trip, Clovelly and the sail to Lundy. Summer traffic often stretches these drives.

Devon was made for this kind of vacation. Woolacombe, Bigbury and the Torbay beaches have lifeguards and gently shelving water, and Paignton Zoo, the National Marine Aquarium and the Paignton to Kingswear steam line fill the rainy days. On Dartmoor, letterboxing keeps older children busy.

The Dales suit outdoor families who are happy in wellies. There is paddling at Bolton Abbey, the show caves near Clapham and the falls at Aysgarth. With few indoor options, though, a wet day there is hard to fill.

The Dales are a little easier to get around. Distances between valleys are short, many walks start from the cottage door, and the Settle to Carlisle railway stops close to walks at Horton and Ribblehead. With a well-chosen base you can manage without a car.

Devon is bigger and more spread out. Trains link Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay along the Dawlish sea wall, but the coast and moor really need a car. Summer weekend queues and tight harbour-town parking make driving slow. In both places, expect single-track lanes and reversing to passing places.

There is little between them, and neither is a reason to go. Devon's most interesting town is Totnes, with independent and alternative shops, and Honiton has antiques and the history of its lace. The Dales offer market-day browsing in Skipton, Richmond and Hawes, outdoor-gear shops and wool crafts. In both, the cheese is the best thing to take home.

Neither is cheap, but the Dales are slightly kinder to the wallet. Campsites, bunkhouses and youth hostels sit right on the walking routes, and the main things to see cost nothing.

In Devon, summer prices peak in the places people most want to stay, the South Hams harbour towns and the north coast surf villages. Torbay, Plymouth and the inland villages are much better value, and so is any stay in spring or autumn.

Devon has more to offer. Plymouth's Theatre Royal is a large regional stage for touring musicals, opera and ballet. Exeter has the Northcott and the cathedral's evensong, and Dartington keeps up its summer music.

The Dales are mostly about small rooms and festival weeks. The tiny Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond is a treat, and the Swaledale and Grassington festivals take music into churches and halls. For anything bigger you need York or Leeds.

Both are places to slow down rather than places to take the waters, but they relax you in different ways. In Devon it is salt water: the Art Deco Tinside Lido below Plymouth Hoe, year-round swimming in south coast coves and spa hotels on the cliff tops.

The Dales offer dark skies, fires in pubs and quiet villages. Just outside the region, Harrogate's Victorian Turkish Baths are a fine place to end a walking trip.