THE joy of popping to North Worcestershire for a mini-break is that it is a mere flit away in the car.

Unless your ex makes a teeny tiny mistake tapping the postcode into the Satnav and you go via Derby. Yes, Derby. And you have an almighty blazing row, going round and round Spaghetti Junction. Shouting and crying; crying and shouting. For three hot, painful hours. Happy holidays!

By the time we arrived at Stourport Manor, our toddler was wearing the War Child face she digs out when she is feeling particularly deprived.

But, like a mirage in a desert, our hotel beckoned to us with what felt like acres of clean, white bedding, a ‘princess suite’ adjoining our room and a warm West Midlands welcome. Not to mention a steak and ice cream feast mighty enough to smother our lingering resentment.

Did you know that nearby Astley boasts one of England’s oldest vineyards with refreshing whites that win rave reviews from Rick Stein? Neither did we, but a bottle really helped settle our differences. A bit.

Stourport Manor is ideally placed to make the short hops to the region’s prime attractions.

First stop: West Midlands Safari Park.

Because our trip was bathed in the kind of mysterious heatwave which punctuates the British rainy season, we could almost believe we were on the Savannah and worked ourselves into a frenzy of excitement as we listened to the jungle drums.

The park is home to the largest pride of white lions in the country. The prowling big cats – from Sumatran tigers to cheetahs – were a real thrill, looking at us like we were lunch. Gulp!

We were immediately jealous of the families who had bought bags of seed at the entry gate so that they could feed nuzzling giraffes and kinky-horned addax antelopes by hand. I did lose my cool at one point when one of the more ferocious beasts (okay, it was an emu) attacked my window. It had to be shooed away by a ranger while I flapped and screamed, but we escaped unscathed. After the trail, the park has plenty of rides, reptiles and refreshments to fill a whole day.

With all the animal adrenaline out of the way, it was a shift of pace stepping aboard the Severn Valley Railway. Whisked along the Kidderminster-Bridgnorth line behind an immaculately restored steam locomotive, it was easy to imagine ourselves in a Miss Marple saga. We were lost in a bounty of bunting and Britishness at Arley station, where it felt like time had stood still – until two mutton-chopped railwaymen told us the last train was about to chuff off from the opposite platform.

We went hurtling over the footbridge while they kindly held the train and then bustled us aboard the front carriage. We realised, to our horror, we had gatecrashed a 70th birthday party where three generations of the same family were trying to enjoy a private party. Of course, the warm Midlands welcome meant we were quickly furnished with a slice of cake and a sofa to enjoy our journey as the gorgeously green Severn Valley views scampered by. Another lucky escape.

Bewdley is well worth a stop – a Georgian town on the riverfront so pretty that it’s hard to believe people are carrying on their everyday lives without clogging up the pavements gawping.

And, coming from exorbitantly expensive Oxford, family meals are an absolute bargain – weighing in at about £10 a head for a three-course feast at The Angel.

Avoncroft open-air museum near Bromsgrove is a dreamlike space where threatened historic buildings have been rescued from the bulldozer and lovingly rebuilt, brick by brick, in a quiet corner of the countryside.

A merchant’s house from the time of Shakespeare, a prefab home from the 1940s, and Victorian tollhouse are all intimately filled, down to the last detail, so that you feel you’ve stepped into the middle of someone’s life while they’ve popped out for some milk.

Our tot was enchanted by the prison cell and windmill. As a venue, this is another stunner with a picture-perfect wedding couple getting hitched in the barn and the Edwardian Tea room taking the business of cake extremely seriously.

The cake stakes were raised even higher at Jinney Ring just up the road where we gorged on Bakewell tart, lemon drizzle and chocolate fudge cakes beside a pond of quacking ducks and the cheerful swing band of a wedding pageant – married bliss must be why everyone is so friendly in the Midlands.

Alongside the ancient Hanbury Church and overlooking the Malvern Hills, this is another beauty spot that would have Americans weak at the knees.

Jinney Ring is a hive of industry where local craftspeople create violins, chocolate, felt, jigsaws, jewellery and more while visitors watch and browse.

In one furnace-like studio a team were calmly blowing glass vases in red, white and blue for the Jubilee weekend – an exhausting but exhilarating feat while we ate cake on the lawn outside.

With golf meccas, the delightful Wyre Forest and the leisurely canalboat network also worth exploring in the same region, North Worcestershire is an area you could easily spend a week of family fun-time.

And all before scooting home – in just over an hour this time – without an argument in sight.

For all information about the area, visit visitnorthworcestershire.com Menzies Stourport Manor Hotel, Hartlebury Road, Stourport-on-Severn. 01299 289955. wmenzieshotels.co.uk West Midlands Safari Park, Spring Grove, Bewdley. 01299 402114. wmsp.co.uk Severn Valley Railway, Bewdley. 01562 827232. svr.co.uk Avoncroft Museum, Stoke Heath. 01527 831363 avoncroft.org.uk Jinney Ring Craft Centre, Hanbury. 01527 821272. jinneyring.co.uk