It would not make much sense if you could see your next control point from a long way off - so orienteering normally takes place in a forested area or in an open area where the landscape can hide the controls. The most challenging areas have a lot of contour detail and require careful reading of the map.
In the UK, the types of area used are quite variable depending on whereabouts in the country you are.
There are flat forests, forests on steep hillsides, forests in complicated glacial terrain (or areas with old mine workings).
The latter are normally the most interesting and difficult areas. They make greater demands on your ability to read the map and make good route choices from it.
The local areas are of a middling quality. For an enthusiast living around the Newcastle area, the best places are in the Lake District and in Scotland.
The Lake District is an area of lakes and mountains in the North West of England. The landscape is complicated and there are excellent areas both on open countryside and in forests and which are able to provide testing courses.
Scotland is full of mountains and forests and contains many superb areas. One of the finest events in the orienteering calendar is the Scottish 6 Days - this takes place every 2 years and attracts an international entry.
In 1999, the World Championships are being held in Scotland and we are promised the same areas during the 1999 6 Days. Can't wait!!!
The South of England tends to have much flatter areas which are consequently less interesting. This also means that people get round faster and that courses are often longer to compensate for this.