Peak District or Yorkshire Dales?

Both sit far inland, so a sea swim means a separate trip from either. The difference is in the kind of dip on offer. The Peak District has the heated open-air pool at Hathersage, while swimming in its cold, deep reservoirs is discouraged.

The Yorkshire Dales lean on wild swimming instead, in river pools on the Wharfe near Grassington and Burnsall and below the Swale's falls at Keld. The water is cold and the rivers rise fast after rain.

Food is on an equal footing, with pubs, tea rooms and a couple of proud local specialities in each. The Peak District brings Bakewell pudding, Hartington cheese and well-stocked farm shops around Chatsworth, with a few country-house dining rooms at the top end.

The Dales answer with Wensleydale cheese from Hawes, eaten with fruit cake, bitter from Masham's breweries, and lamb and moorland game on most menus. In both, the smaller villages offer only one or two places for dinner, and the Dales send anyone wanting variety to Harrogate or York.

The Peak District has the stronger heritage, led by Chatsworth, among England's grandest country houses with a major art collection, and the unusually intact medieval Haddon Hall. Buxton's Georgian Crescent, the plague village of Eyam and Arkwright's mills at Cromford add a day or two of further interest.

The Yorkshire Dales offer castles and abbeys rather than palaces: Skipton Castle, Bolton Castle above Wensleydale, Richmond's Norman castle over the Swale, and the ruins of Bolton Priory and Jervaulx. Much of the rest, such as the Ribblehead Viaduct and the old lead mines, speaks of working life rather than grandeur, and it is modest in scale.

Neither is a place for a night out. In both, the evening means a beamed pub, a fire and local ale among walkers who will be up early. What differs is the nearest escape: Buxton and Matlock keep a few bars open later at weekends, with Sheffield and Manchester about an hour away, while in the Dales Skipton is the liveliest town and Leeds is the nearest city for anything late.

Both are first-rate walking country of hills rather than mountains, and the difference is in the rock. The Peak District pairs the dark gritstone moorland of Kinder Scout with the gentle limestone dales of the White Peak, and its edges at Stanage and Curbar draw climbers from around the world.

The Yorkshire Dales are more thoroughly limestone, with the cove, scar and pavement at Malham, the Three Peaks challenge above Ribblesdale and one of Britain's great cave systems around Gaping Gill. Cyclists divide too: the Peak's old railway trails suit easy riding, and the Dales' steep passes such as the Buttertubs suit road climbers.

From the Peak District the easiest outings are to cities: Manchester and Sheffield by train, Derby and Nottingham to the south. There is also a cluster of grand houses just outside the park, including Hardwick Hall, Bolsover Castle and Kedleston Hall.

The Yorkshire Dales have the richer choice. Fountains Abbey and its water garden are about half an hour from the eastern dales, York's Minster and walls about an hour, and Durham's cathedral a short drive from Richmond. Haworth's Brontë parsonage, Saltaire and a ride on the Settle to Carlisle line fill further days.

Families will find more ready-made days out in the Peak District: the Heights of Abraham cable car and caverns at Matlock Bath, vintage trams at Crich, Chatsworth's farmyard and adventure playground, traffic-free railway trails for cycling, and Alton Towers within a short drive.

The Dales suit families content with paddling at Bolton Abbey, the falls at Aysgarth, show caves near Ingleton and the castles at Skipton and Richmond, with caving and gorge scrambling for older children. A car is needed in both, but a wet day is harder to fill in the Dales, where there are fewer indoor options.

In both, most visitors drive narrow lanes that jam at the popular spots on summer weekends, and buses into the quieter valleys are thin. The railways differ. The Peak District has three lines, with the Hope Valley route stopping at Edale, Hope and Hathersage and branches to Buxton and Matlock, so many walks start from the platform.

The Yorkshire Dales rely on the Settle to Carlisle line in the west, with stations near walks at Settle, Horton and Ribblehead, plus trains to Skipton. Distances between villages are short there, and Grassington, Hawes and Settle are easy to cover on foot once you have a base.

Shopping is a minor pleasure in both, best kept for a rainy afternoon. The Peak District's distinctive buy is Blue John jewellery from Castleton's hills, alongside outdoor gear in Hathersage, antiques in Ashbourne and Leek, and Bakewell's weekly market.

The Dales revolve around their markets, with Skipton's street market and those at Richmond and Hawes, plus cheese, wool crafts and small galleries. For boutiques or department stores, Harrogate, York or Leeds are the nearest.

Costs are much the same in both: rural English prices for cottages, inns and pub meals, demand that peaks on summer weekends and in school breaks, and hills that are free to walk. The difference lies in what you pay for once there. In the Peak the stately homes and show caves charge entry, which adds up for a family, while in the Dales the waterfalls and many of the ruins cost nothing to see.

Buxton gives the Peak District the better stage. Its Frank Matcham Opera House runs drama, comedy, concerts and pantomime through the year, and in July the town's international festival brings opera along with a large fringe.

The Dales have the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, a tiny playhouse from 1788, and summer brings the Swaledale and Grassington festivals. Outside those weeks there is little on, and serious theatre means a trip to Harrogate, York or Leeds.

The Peak District has a living spa tradition. Buxton's Crescent holds a spa using the town's warm mineral water, and anyone can fill a bottle at St Ann's Well. The Yorkshire Dales have no bathing culture of their own beyond hotel spas, and the nearest real baths are Harrogate's Victorian Turkish Baths, a short drive away.

Both offer the same deeper calm of stone villages, long walks and pub fires, and the Dales add nights dark enough to see the stars.