It houses an extensive archive of people's photography from the last 100 years. The collection includes black and white and colour photographs, slides, negatives, Polaroids, photobooth, home movies and other photographic ephemera.

Collecting snapshots is an unpredictable pursuit; a bit like buses - you wait for ages and three come at once….or in this case about 7,000.

My local charity shop have been keeping a look out for me and last year out of the blue they handed me a large laundry bag stuffed to bursting with hundreds of little yellow boxes. My heart leapt when I realised it was a vast collection of colour slides.

I hurried home and counted more than 200 boxes, each a roll of 36 pictures making that approximately 7,000 images to view. Slides aren't the easiest things to browse through; unlike photographs that you can flip through by hand, you need a projector or at least a light box and magnifier. It took a while, but over quite a period of time I managed to view the whole collection. It was quite a revelation.

I realised these photographs mapped out the lives of a couple – over a period of 23 years. For nearly a quarter of a century their main pastimes were walking and photography. The earliest pictures being from 1967 and the last ones 1990.

We see the same couple throughout, sometimes alone or often with friends; enjoying the simple pleasures in life; walking, caravanning, day trips, drinking tea and probably enjoying a regular slide show of their photographs. Maybe their family had been subjected to one too many slide shows by the time these came into their possession.

The fact that the pictures were passed on and not just discarded tells me someone knew they had value, and probably appreciated the quality of the images. But who needs to inherit 7,000 images of someone else's walking days? The Snapshot Museum, of course!

Lucky for the Snapshot Museum they were passed on. We can forever enjoy the beauty of the British countryside and revel in a quintessentially British way of life; not only did this couple drive an egg blue Morris Oxford, they had an egg blue caravan to match! In the swinging 60s, this probably wasn't the most swingin' lifestyle, but these days would be the height of retro cool.

These were the days before fleece became the walkers uniform. The people in these pictures wear a wonderful array of tweeds and tartans. Their hand knitted bobble hats and walking socks in vibrant colours, clashing brilliantly with the natural colours of the backgrounds.

Each packet had been rigorously labelled with little yellow slips of paper saying things like Lake District, weather clouds, my films, and excellent pictures. Not exactly pulse racing stuff, but fascinating nonetheless.

Whilst viewing the slides I find what are essentially the same pictures with the same people ageing. Hair turns from brown to grey but the pictures and their content remain the same. A testament to a contented couple, enjoying their days together and the great outdoors.

These people weren't just snappers, more like enthusiastic amateurs.

This was confirmed when I come across several pictures of the grey haired gentleman with his 35mm camera round his neck, and in one picture he holds a Weston light meter; essential kit for a good exposure, this explains the quality of some of these images.

There are no candid snaps here. Every image is very considered, and shots appear to be directed and set up beforehand. When the lady photographs her husband he adopts the classic 'conqueror's' pose with a knee raised up on the mountain. When the husband photographs his wife she stands very still and posed, and often gazes into the distance. She is always serene.

These are lovely pictures. Looking through them you get a real sense of quiet happiness. Even on a snowy day the sun seems to shine and the warmth emanates from the images. The quality is above your usual snapper's ability, but this collection contains some classic snapshot compositions; person leaning on car, groups of three and one of my favourites – the big scene with a small person in it, a sort of landscape and portrait all in one. What makes these different is that they actually work; they're almost technically perfect and strangely beautiful.

And with the summer approaching these pictures make me want to get out into the country and breathe in the fresh air, armed with a thermos and wool picnic blanket. If only I had that egg blue Morris Oxford…