Isle of Skye or Peak District?

Neither is a place to swim, but Skye at least has a shoreline worth visiting. The white coral sand at Claigan turns turquoise in sun, Talisker and Staffin have black-sand bays, and the Fairy Pools give wild swimmers an icy plunge.

The Peak District is landlocked, and its reservoirs are off-limits for swimming. A summer swim there means the heated open-air pool at Hathersage or a dip in a dale river.

The two eat about equally well, but from different larders. Skye's best meals come from the lochs: langoustines, scallops, Loch Harport oysters, then hill lamb and venison, often at remote peninsula restaurants that need booking and close in winter.

The Peak District is pub and tea-room country. Expect hearty food with regional ale, Bakewell pudding, Hartington cheese and well-stocked farm shops near Chatsworth. The everyday choice is a little wider across its market towns, but nothing matches Skye's seafood.

The Peak District goes much deeper here. Chatsworth's art collection and park, medieval Haddon Hall, Buxton's Georgian Crescent and the Arkwright mills at Cromford give it heritage of national importance, with the plague village of Eyam and summer well-dressings adding smaller stories.

Skye's history of clans, crofting and Gaelic is told at a few scattered places: Dunvegan Castle, Armadale and the Museum of the Isles, and the thatched cottages at Kilmuir. It is moving, but a couple of days is enough.

Both end the evening in a pub, and neither has clubs or a late scene. On Skye that means a dram at a hillside inn such as Sligachan or a bar on Portree's harbour, and in winter many places shut early. The Peak District has a few later bars in Buxton and Matlock, and Sheffield or Manchester are about an hour away if you want a proper night out.

Skye has the grander, wilder scenery. The gabbro ridge of the Black Cuillin rises from the sea, and the Old Man of Storr, the Quiraing and Neist Point feel otherworldly. Sea kayaking, whales and otters add a marine side the Peak cannot offer, though rain, cloud and summer midges come with it.

The Peak District is gentler and more forgiving. You can cross the gritstone moors of Kinder Scout or climb the famous Stanage edge, walk the green limestone dales of Dovedale and Lathkill, cycle the old railway trails and go potholing underground.

The Peak District is far better placed for days out. Manchester, Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham are all close, and Hardwick Hall, Kedleston and Calke Abbey sit just beyond the park, with York and Chester possible on a long day.

From Skye, outings depend on ferries and the weather. Eilean Donan and Plockton are over the bridge, Raasay is a short crossing away, and Harris is a full day by boat, but there is no sizeable town within easy reach.

The Peak District is built for an active family vacation. It has show caves at Castleton and Buxton, the cable car to the Heights of Abraham, Crich's trams, Chatsworth's adventure playground and traffic-free cycle trails, with Alton Towers a short drive away.

Skye has real adventures, such as dinosaur footprints at Staffin and seal-spotting boats, but there is little built for children. The famous walks are often steep or on cliff edges, so it suits older, hardy children better than young ones.

You will want a car in both, but the Peak District can be done without one. The Hope Valley line stops at Edale, Hope and Hathersage, and branch lines reach Buxton and Matlock, so many walks start from a station.

Skye has no railway and only sparse buses. Its single-track roads with passing places make every drive slow, and the Trotternish loop and Fairy Pools road clog up in summer.

Neither is a shopping destination, and what they sell is different. On Skye you buy from potters, weavers and silversmiths in workshops down farm tracks, along with tweed, knitwear and whisky. The Peak District offers Blue John jewellery from Castleton, antiques in Ashbourne and Leek, Bakewell's weekly market and outdoor-gear shops in Hathersage.

The Peak District is noticeably easier on the wallet. Its prices are those of rural England, with hostels, bunkhouses and campsites across the park, although entry to several stately homes and caves adds up for a family.

On Skye, rooms are scarce, so summer accommodation is expensive and books up early. A hire car is close to essential and cheap meals are rare outside Portree. Going in spring or autumn, or sharing a cottage, helps on both.

The Peak District has more on stage, largely thanks to Buxton. Its Matcham Opera House runs a programme through the year, and July brings the International Festival and its fringe, with summer concerts at the great houses.

Skye's offer is Gaelic and traditional music in small rooms: summer pub sessions in Portree, village-hall ceilidhs, concerts at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and piping at the August Highland Games. Outside summer, it is largely chance whether anything is on.

The Peak District has a real spa tradition. Buxton's thermal water feeds a spa in the Georgian Crescent, you can fill a bottle at St Ann's Well, and country-house hotels add treatments, with quiet villages and pub fires to finish the day.

Skye has hardly any spas. Its restful side is isolation: a cottage on a sea loch in Waternish or Sleat and long summer evenings with nothing to do.