Some of my recent city hire bike trips have taken me to the docking station opposite Akva (one of the little useful discoveries that you make, when using a bike a little slower than you are used to, is the small pleasure that by following North Meadow Walk and then ultimately cutting through to the canal at the end of Lochrin Place, you can make a route that is almost entirely flat and which almost entirely avoids busy roads or junctions).
However, not having otherwise been there all that recently, I was somewhat confused and annoyed by the paving of the (south bank) canal towpath as it reaches the end of the canal at Akva.
The layout of the paving blocks guides and lures you in a straight line towards Akva (the right hand side of the towpath has a slight dividing line in the blocks and is paved in a different style, making it seem "separate"), so it feels that the "main route" for cycling is guiding you straight ahead. Unfortunately, only too late as you descend slightly to the end of the canal, do you realise that progress forwards and to the left is blocked by a step up to the north bank towpath, and that progress forwards and to the right is blocked by outdoor tables and dividers belonging to Akva, and a solid low wall (are Akva allowed to be using all of that space in the concourse area, or have they perhaps overflowed their permitted area somewhat?), meaning that you then have to do a U-turn, back up the ramp, and then take the less obvious right "fork" on the towpath to proceed onwards through to Fountainbridge.
Admittedly, it's a mistake you only make once, but I dare say that a lot of visiting touring cyclists passing through, to whom this would be a new experience, must get caught out by this (although as it is probably a convenient point to stop for a wee refreshment break, I suppose it's not the end of the world).
It would have been better, however, if the paving had been laid out to guide you more clearly to the through route, or, perhaps, if there was a cycle route direction arrow sign directing you to the right fork of the towpath at the point where it splits. It's the little things that can make all the difference.
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