Moanbane in W Wicklow has a flat, boggy top which is home to a small lake. It, and the top nearby Silsean, overlook the Blessington Lakes with good views also over to Mullaghcleevaun and S to the Table Mt. Area. They are also walked as part of the Glenbride circuit.

W. Park in Ballyknockan or at the picnic site O01069 07313 A. Walk thru the village, turn left and aim for the forest corner O00710 06741 B. Keep the forest on your right and after about 700m head in and out of it on an obvious track, exiting at O01062 05658 C before heading up steep, grassy slopes to the summit of S from where it's an easy walk over to M. Allow 2hrs

N. Park at O04387 10862 D and head up the wide track to Black Hill. Continue to Billy Byrne's Gap O04330 06762 E, keeping to high ground. From here it's a short, easy rise to M. Allow 1.5hrs

SE. Park at O02834 03625 F and go up via forest tracks until you meet a circular turning area. The track narrows here and soon a fence with access to open countryside appears - now it's an easy walk on improving terrain to the top of S and then a quick transit over to M. Allow 90 mins.
SE. A slightly shorter hike starts up the road at O03671 04203 G. Hop a fence and head up thru the small but pleasant wood before exiting into the gully that will take you on good ground close to the summit of S.
Seek permission if parking near the houses at road's end or if using the valley to the NE of here.

Notable tracks incl track/3388, track/4413 and for 2 cars track/1707. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/107/comment/4867/

From Silsean its a short hop accross to Moanbane. There is evidence of quadbike/scrambler activity in the area. The going can be very soft in places and in particular in the saddle between Silsean and Moanbane where there is a virtual marsh to cross. The reascent to Moanbane from Silsean is not taxing in the slightest and along the way great views accross Blessington and the reservoirs are on offer.

As discussed previously on this website there is no clear summit cairn or marker but judging by GPS readings the little pond is indeed the most likely candidate. This pond is not marked on sheet 56. Mullaghcleevaun can be tackled from Moanbane but I had other summits in mind to bag and decided to return to the car. From Moanbane I took a bearing for one of the streams feeding into the Ballinagee River. The descent from Moanbane to the head of the stream is not as knree jerking as it may appear. When I reached the location of the stream it was infact dried up but the river bed was clearly visible and I simply follwed this down to the where it forks with the Ballinagee River itself at O045053 H. I came upon two seperate large herds of deer (perhaps 13-16 deer in each) as I approached the fork in the river, and judging by their reactions they are not used to seeing people pass this way. The valley below Billy Byrnes Gap is in itself a fine palce to be, and I decided to take lunch at the river side.

From this fork in the river a faint track or indeed number of tracks are evident which all eventually lead onto one main stone/gravel track which seems to be used by local farmers to herd and feed sheep and cattle. This track brought me right around the spur of Silsean and directly into the farm houses at the end of the road O038043 I. From here the road can be followed back to the car with views over the Ballinagee river valley on your left hand side. All in all a nice little loop albeit very short. 10.1Km in total over 3.5hours. For me the day was not over yet as I headed for Sorrel Hill and Lugnagun. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/107/comment/4518/

On a recent visit to Moanbane, I found the little pond on top had frozen over and the lingering snow that had fallen on it had risen into a puffy meringue or soufflé, or a bowl of whipped cream, or the head of a frothy pint – wherever your taste buds take you (see photo, with snow-ribbed Mullaghcleevaun in the left background).

The name Moanbane (Móin Bhán: white bog) must surely be derived from the carpet of bog cotton (cottongrass) that covers this and the surrounding hills in early summer. Seen from the far side of Blessington Lake in that season, the domes of Silsean (another luminous name), Moanbane and even unpromising Black Hill can look snow-white in the sunshine.

A bog slide was recorded somewhere on the slopes of Moanbane in 1938. Even today, dropping down to the lower reaches on the western side, you will now and again come across a few ominous, gaping holes in the vegetation, sometimes with the throaty gurgle of water below. One is left calculating the uncomfortable odds against another part of this blanket of bog shearing off some black day under the heavy stomp of one’s all-too-confident boots. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/107/comment/3605/

Climbed Moanbane from Black Hill on a lovely summer afternoon, cloudy but very warm. Met nobody else walking, but the tranquility of the hills was interrupted by a group of 6 or 8 scrambler bikers who were buzzing about all over Moanbane, Mullaghcleevaun and Black Hill. As previously proposed, I am in agreement that the pool at the summit is good to mark the high point and here's how it looked on this fine summer's day.... Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/107/comment/3097/

There's no distinct top but, as csd says, it seems to be somewhere near this pond.

I was up here on a fine summer day to find dragonflies cavorting. Not so the cold windy January day of this picture. The group were huddled together for warmth, just willing me to finish fiddling with the camera.

The view behind them glimpsed across the Glenbride valley is Carrigunneen. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/107/comment/2595/