Lake District or Yorkshire Dales?

Neither region is a place for a seaside vacation, but the Lake District at least has big open water. On calm summer days you can swim off the shingle or a jetty at Windermere, Ullswater, Buttermere or Derwentwater, and the long, empty beaches of the Cumbrian coast are good for a walk.

The Dales have only river pools, on the Wharfe near Grassington and Burnsall and below the Swale falls at Keld. The water is cold and the rivers rise fast after rain, and the nearest sand is a long drive away.

Both regions run on the country pub, but the Lake District reaches higher. The southern Lakes around Cartmel and Windermere have country-house and farm-to-table cooking that draws diners from across Britain. Herdwick lamb, Cumberland sausage, Grasmere gingerbread and Cartmel's sticky toffee pudding give it a strong local larder.

The Dales eat more plainly: Wensleydale cheese from Hawes with fruit cake, bitter from Masham and curd tart, with a handful of ambitious dining pubs in Wharfedale. Neither region has much variety, and from the Dales you go to Harrogate or York for it.

Both scatter their sights across the valleys, so the difference is in kind. The Lake District's heritage is literary. You can see Wordsworth's homes at Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, Beatrix Potter's farmhouse at Hill Top and Ruskin's house at Brantwood, with Castlerigg stone circle and the Roman fort on Hardknott Pass for older history.

The Dales tell a story of medieval power and working land. They have the castles of Skipton, Bolton and Richmond, the abbey ruins of Bolton Priory and Jervaulx, the Ribblehead Viaduct and the lead-mining remains of Swaledale. Choose by whether poets or castles draw you more.

In both regions the night ends early by a pub fire, and neither has clubs worth the trip. The small difference is where the extra choice gathers. Ambleside, Keswick and Bowness have a few livelier bars in summer, while in the Dales Skipton stays slightly busier at weekends and Leeds is the nearest real night out.

Both are first-rate walking country, but the ground is different. The Lake District has England's highest mountains rising straight out of glacial lakes. Striding Edge, Scafell Pike and the Langdale Pikes give serious mountain days, and the lakes add sailing, kayaking and paddleboarding.

The Dales are rolling limestone fells rather than mountains. Malham Cove, Gordale Scar and the Three Peaks above Ribblesdale are the classic walks, and around Ingleton and Gaping Gill lies one of Britain's great caving areas. Road cyclists come for passes like the Buttertubs. Go to the Lakes for height and water, and to the Dales for limestone and caves.

The Lake District's outings mostly stay inside its own boundary. There are Kendal's old yards, Wordsworth's birthplace at Cockermouth, Cartmel Priory and the little steam railway from Ravenglass up Eskdale. From the northern Lakes, Carlisle's castle and cathedral and the central stretch of Hadrian's Wall make a fuller day, and Furness Abbey and Lancaster lie to the south. These are pleasant days, but the bigger names are a fair drive away.

The Dales have far more around them. Fountains Abbey and its water garden are about half an hour from the eastern valleys, with Ripon, Harrogate and Knaresborough close by and York about an hour out. Durham is a short run north of Richmond, Haworth and the mill village of Saltaire lie to the south, and from the western dales Kirkby Lonsdale and the Lake District towns are within reach by road. The Settle to Carlisle railway is a day out of its own.

Both suit families who like being outdoors, and both struggle to fill a wet day. The Lake District's treats are on the water and from children's books. There are steamers on Windermere and Ullswater, the Beatrix Potter connection around Hawkshead and the Eskdale miniature railway, and Windermere and Ambleside make easy car-free bases.

The Dales lean towards caves and castles. Children can walk past stalactites in the show caves near Ingleton and Clapham, explore the castles at Skipton and Richmond and paddle at Bolton Abbey, but you will need a car to string these together.

Neither is easy without some planning, but they work differently. In the Lake District, the branch line to Windermere, the buses through Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick and the lake steamers make a car-free stay in the central Lakes realistic. The western valleys still mean driving the steep Hardknott and Wrynose passes.

The Dales are mainly driving country, on narrow walled lanes with sparse buses. The Settle to Carlisle railway serves the western dales well for walkers, and once you arrive, Grassington, Hawes and Settle are small enough to cover on foot.

Shopping is a sideline in both regions. The Lake District's one strength is outdoor gear, with Ambleside and Keswick full of boots and waterproofs, along with landscape galleries and Herdwick wool. The Dales are better for markets: Skipton's street market and the weekly markets in Richmond and Hawes sell cheese, antiques and wool crafts that fill a rainy afternoon.

The Lake District costs more, and the premium falls mostly on the popular villages around Windermere, Ambleside and Keswick. Cottages, B&Bs and country-house hotels there are priced for demand from July to September, and also at weekends and during school breaks, while pub meals and parking add steadily to the bill. Come midweek outside the school breaks, or in winter, and prices ease noticeably.

The Dales charge ordinary rural English rates, a step below the Lakes for a comparable stay. Their expensive stretch is narrower, mainly the summer season and its school break, and with only a handful of ambitious dining pubs to tempt you, evenings out tend to cost less too.

Each region has a small but genuine programme built around one good venue. Keswick's Theatre by the Lake runs a repertory season of plays by the water, and Kendal adds an arts centre and its November mountain festival of films and talks.

The Dales have Richmond's Georgian Theatre Royal, a tiny playhouse from 1788, and summer festivals in Swaledale and Grassington with concerts in village churches. For opera or an orchestra you have to leave either region.

Both are places to slow down rather than to take the waters. The Lake District's version is the lakeside hotel spa around Windermere and Ullswater, with pools looking out over the water, and the cold-water swim in a tarn that locals keep up all year.

The Dales have hotel spas too, but their real draw is close by: Harrogate's Victorian Turkish Baths, a short drive from Nidderdale and Wharfedale. Add skies dark enough for stargazing, and it is an easy place to unwind after a long walk.