HARRY Arter tentatively crossed the Watford Gap and saw the northern light.

For a 21-year-old brought up a stone’s throw from the Valley in Eltham, South London, Carlisle seemed a universe away, let alone a world.

But a month-long loan adventure beyond the Lake District in March was just what the football manager ordered for Arter, whose spells at home club Charlton, Welling, Staines Town and Woking, before joining Cherries in 2010, had seen him stay close to his southern roots.

“It was different for me to live up there and I had to get my head around being surrounded by northern people,” laughed Arter, talking candidly to the Echo following Cherries’ narrow 2-1 defeat to Hartlepool on Saturday.

“They are very different and there were no southern lads up there at all apart from me so I almost learned a different culture!”

Seward Stadium court jester Arter, though, knows just how important his spell at Brunton Park was.

Having made just 15 Dean Court league appearances since his move from Woking, Arter was in desperate need of game time.

Stuck down the pecking order behind Anton Robinson and Danny Hollands for a central midfield berth, the likeable star admitted his debut campaign had been “frustrating”.

That was before Cumbrians boss Greg Abbott stepped in.

“I slotted in well at Carlisle,” said Arter. “The manager plays some really good football up there and he got me fit, took his time to help me and I really enjoyed working under him. He understood the position I was in at Bournemouth, because the team was flying at the time and I was a new player from non-league and wasn’t getting a game.

“Greg understood I hadn’t played that much and I wasn’t match fit. He took time after training to help me get fit and, mentally, he helped me a lot as well.

“He would talk to me after the games and it was a great experience up there.

“Danny Hollands and Anton Robinson were playing brilliantly at the time and they deserved to play.

“But I wasn’t happy sitting on the bench every week and I really wanted to play.”

Arter marked his Cumbrians debut with a 90th-minute goal in a dramatic clash against eventual champions Brighton, who ran out 4-3 winners.

He went on to make five appearances for Abbott’s side before returning to Dean Court at the end of March.

Arter added: “It certainly made me more hungry to do well for Bournemouth. I owe Greg Abbott a lot and I will always speak highly of Carlisle.

“I was desperate to go. Lee Bradbury promised me he would let me go and we just had to wait for Mark Molesley to come back from injury.

“There was no back-up until Moles came back, but Bradders is a man of his word. If he promises you something, he doesn’t let you down and he said as soon as Moles was back, he would let me go out on loan.

“Initially, I was set to go somewhere else but I wasn’t able to go due to numbers at Bournemouth. I thought the chance had gone, but Bradders and my agent sorted it with Greg Abbott.”

Arter admitted his time at Brunton Park has enabled him to sympathise with the settling-in period currently being experienced by Cherries loanees Jaime Peters and Wes Thomas, who both joined the club this month from Ipswich and Crawley, respectively.

“When you go on loan, it is tough for a while,” said Arter. “We have got a lot of new players here, including loan players, but I think this month has shown we are starting to gel as a squad.

“People’s personalities are starting to come out a lot more and it’s a much better place compared with, say, six weeks ago.

“You need to know people’s personalities before you really involve them. You need to know what kind of jokes they like and how much banter they can take. We have a lot of strong characters and if you don’t know someone, you can’t really have a laugh with them so it’s taken time for everyone to start coming out of their shells.

“But all the lads that have come in are starting to show their personalities now and they are part of the team. We value them as highly as last year’s team and everyone is starting to mix in now. There are no senior members at this club – we are all in it together. It’s a really nice blend at the moment.”