Barnes Castle

The ruins of Barnes Castle can be seen on the brow of the hill behind the village. It has been described as a 'toothless old wreck of a building'. The ruins are known locally as The Vaults and, at one time, it was widely believed that they were the remains of fortified barns built to house the cattle when reivers were on the prowl. The design, however,  is too elaborate for the building ever to have been barns. The remains are the ground floor and kitchen quarters of what would have been a substantial building.  It is in fact the ruins of a dwelling that was never completed as the owner, Sir John Seton died before his dream house was completed. Today, all that it houses is a tangle of old farm implements.
The photo was taken from the right of way leading down to the Drem Road.