Cockum, a troutful rivulet, partly of Berwick, but chiefly of Edinburgh, shire. It rises in Channelkirk parish at 1050 feet above sea-level; runs ¾ mile west-south-westward to the border of the shires; and, after following it for ¼ mile southward, winds 3¼ miles south-south-westward; and falls into Gala Water in the northern vicinity of Stow village.

(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)