I cycle a fair bit on my local towpath as part of my volunteering with The Canal & River Trust, it also means I get to see what's going on too. By and large the interaction between cyclists and pedestrians works well. Where conflict occurs is in the bridge holes - too many riders ding their bell, in a 'get out of the way' fashion and then speed into the holes which are also a blind corner, where there is nowhere for a ped to actually go, except into the water. There is no difference between the type of rider who does this - I've seen family pootlers, and tourists do it. It's all very odd.
My most recent issue, which was completely atypical, and happened when I was not in my volunteer uniform (or I would have said strong words) was when I was cycling along a narrow bit of towpath, with a lock some 50 yards ahead. I was slowly following a 'slow jogger', waiting to pass her at the lock, when, you guessed it - ding ding, ding ding! I suspect that if I hadn't been there, the dinger would have forced the jogger into the swamp on the right, or the water on the left.