Great Outdoors

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The Great Outdoors on Your Table

May arrives and the urge to be outside — or at least to feel outside — is hard to shake. There is something about longer evenings and warmer air that makes a wide-open landscape puzzle feel exactly right: the kind of image you want to linger over, not rush. This month we've gathered eight of our favourite scenery puzzles, from the garden paths of northern Italy to a classic British caravan site, all waiting to be spread across the table.

Golden Evenings in Italy

Few settings hold more visual drama than Venice at dusk, and Dominic Davison captures it beautifully in his work for Gibsons. San Marco Sunset puts you right on the waterfront as the light goes: gondoliers pull into San Marco while the sunset paints bold, beautiful shades of red onto the sky. It is a warm, richly coloured image — exactly the kind of puzzle that rewards slow, unhurried piecing on a May evening. Davison is known for "a grandiose attention to detail, warm summer evenings and an idyllic holiday feeling" in his digital illustrations, and it really shows here.

If Venice feels like high drama, Stresa on Lake Maggiore offers something quieter and equally gorgeous. Stresa enjoys a splendid location on Lake Maggiore in the Gulf of Borromeo, and its beautiful countryside, architectural gems and mild climate combine to make it one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy. Ravensburger's Beautiful Gardens – Stresa, Italy brings all of that lakeside elegance to the table — the Borromean Islands with their stunning palaces and ornamental gardens sit just offshore, while luxury villas and opulent Art Nouveau hotels line the elegant lakeside. It is a puzzle that genuinely makes you want to book a trip.

Riverside and Countryside with Gibsons

Dominic Davison appears again with the Riverside Inn, another 1,000-piece Gibsons puzzle that speaks directly to that May feeling of wanting to be sitting outside with a cold drink somewhere green and peaceful. A country pub on a riverbank, dappled light, boats on the water — it is quintessentially English and thoroughly satisfying to build. If you have not tried a Davison puzzle before, the Gibsons range is a wonderful place to start.

Gibsons' Life on the Allotment, illustrated by Janice Daughters, takes a very different approach — closer to home, more familiar, and all the more charming for it. Sheds, raised beds, watering cans, a kettle no doubt on somewhere — it is the kind of puzzle that allotment-holders and keen gardeners will immediately recognise. The image is busy and full of personality, which makes it genuinely engaging to assemble piece by piece.

Gardens in Full Bloom

May is peak garden season, and there are few better ways to celebrate it than with a puzzle that puts you in the middle of a beautifully kept outdoor space. Gibsons' aptly named Secret Garden delivers exactly that — the suggestion of somewhere tucked away and in full bloom, the sort of corner you stumble upon and never want to leave. It is a lovely, atmospheric 1,000-piece build with plenty of floral detail to keep you occupied.

Ravensburger's Happy Days No 5 – Glorious Gardens takes the garden theme and runs with it, giving you not one but four separate 500-piece puzzles in a single box. Each image depicts a different garden scene, making this set ideal for puzzling together as a family — tackle one each, swap, or work through them one at a time across the month. At £24.97 it is genuinely good value for the hours of puzzling inside.

Four garden scenes, one box — the Ravensburger Happy Days Glorious Gardens set might just carry you through the whole of May.

Tucked-Away Retreats

Some of the most satisfying puzzles are the ones that feel like an escape — a little scene you can inhabit for the evening. Gibsons' Hidden Hideaway, illustrated by Greg Giordano, is precisely that: a 500-piece puzzle with a cosy, tucked-away quality that makes it perfect when you want something achievable in a single sitting. At £11.47 it is also one of the most accessible puzzles in this collection — a great gift, or a treat for yourself on a rainy May afternoon.

A Classic British Summer

No Great Outdoors collection for May would feel complete without something that captures the particular magic of a British summer holiday — and Kevin Walsh's Caravan Holiday from Kidicraft does it perfectly. Walsh's nostalgic style has made him a favourite among puzzlers who love a scene that tells a story, and this one is rich with it: the little details of a caravan site that will bring back memories for anyone who grew up spending summers by the sea. At £9.45 for 1,000 pieces, it is also outstanding value.

Which Puzzle Is Right for You?

To help you choose at a glance, here is a quick summary of the eight puzzles in this collection:

Puzzle	Brand	Pieces	Price	Best for
San Marco Sunset	Gibsons	1,000	£14.97	Dramatic evening colour, Venice lovers
Beautiful Gardens – Stresa, Italy	Ravensburger	1,000	£14.47	Italian lakeside scenery, garden fans
Riverside Inn	Gibsons	1,000	£14.97	English countryside, Dominic Davison fans
Life on the Allotment	Gibsons	1,000	£14.97	Gardeners, busy detailed scenes
Secret Garden	Gibsons	1,000	£14.97	Atmospheric floral puzzles
Happy Days No 5 – Glorious Gardens	Ravensburger	4 × 500	£24.97	Families, multi-puzzle value
Hidden Hideaway	Gibsons	500	£11.47	Single-evening builds, gifts
Caravan Holiday	Kidicraft	1,000	£9.45	Nostalgia, British summer holidays

Find Your Next Outdoor Escape

All eight of these puzzles sit within our broader Nature & Landscape collection, which is well worth a browse if none of the above quite match what you are looking for. We also carry the full Gibsons Jigsaw Puzzles range — one of the most consistently well-made puzzle brands available in the UK, with something for every taste and every season.

UK delivery is just £3.97 per order, however many puzzles you add to your basket. So if you are tempted by more than one, it makes very good sense to bundle them together. Happy puzzling — and happy May.