There is a welcome burst of sunshine as Jack Bonham discusses the early part of settling in at Carlisle United and Cumbria. "It's a bit colder up here, which I'm still getting used to," the goalkeeper smiles. "But it's a lovely part of the country, and I look forward to seeing more of it."

It has otherwise been a rainy start to pre-season at Brunton Park, but Bonham is bright about his opportunity with the Blues. Having joined on a six-month loan from Brentford, the 23-year-old is eager to grab his chance.

Signed by Keith Curle as an initial replacement for Mark Gillespie, the long-serving No1 who this summer left for Walsall, Bonham yearns for the first run of regular first-team action in his career. Until now, it has been a life mainly of development at Griffin Park, after an early stint at Watford that was marked by one notorious moment.

The fact Bonham has only made eight senior appearances means the moment, in 2013, feels more recent than it actually is. The tall, young keeper was only 19 when injuries to the Hornets' two senior keepers saw him thrust unexpectedly into a crucial end-of-season game.

Fatally Bonham let a Ross McCormack chip slip through his fingers as Watford's promotion hopes perished in the 90th minute. It was a notorious moment but also, he says, an early taste of the goalkeeper's lot.

"You look at the stats, and what are the chances of two keepers getting injured on the same day?" he says. "Since then, I've been at Brentford for four years and no-one's been injured.

"It was a bit of a freak day. It went how it went and you have to move forward from things like that. It's definitely been character-building. I've probably had the worst of times now, fingers crossed.

"I'm sure there will be bad times, still, as there is in everyone's career. But to experience that so early, you have to be strong mentally. The people around me helped me massively. I think I've come out on the right side of it and used it positively."

Although often in reserve at Brentford - he was on the bench for many of their Championship games last season - Bonham's development has been rewarded with another year's contract. He also enjoyed a much happier experience when handed his league debut for the club at Barnsley in April.

Bonham shone with a string of fine saves. "Yeah, it was definitely one of the better days," he says. "It was nice to be given the chance. It was always a possibility that I might play at some point, but when you've not played much that year, and then to go and play as well as I did, it was a great feeling and something I can hopefully bring to this season as well, the confidence from that."

Brentford are an intriguing club, driven by owner Matthew Benham's devotion to data, now parked in the second tier after many years at the bottom two levels. The team Carlisle beat at Wembley in the 2011 Johnstone's Paint Trophy final have left them and many others behind.

Their progress has been a bittersweet experience for Bonham. "Brentford is a very different-thinking football club and you can see it's going in the right direction. It's working for them. It's been a good place to be. It's probably unfortunate and lucky at the same time to have had really good goalkeepers there, keeping me out.

"I've had David Button, who has a lot of experience - we're quite close, and he spoke to me before coming here about going out on loan and what that would bring to me. And Dan Bentley's come in and been great too.

"I've been so close but yet so far. I've had a few cup games, and making my full league debut last year was great. It only makes you more hungry to come and play somewhere. I've been desperate to get out and show what I'm about and get a run of games in. So there's an overriding feeling of excitement for me."

Although his move was not finalised until last Friday, Bonham confirmed that United registered their interest at an earlier stage of the close-season. Curle and keeper coach Simon Tracey have identified Bonham's size, presence and in particular his distribution as aspects that can benefit the Blues.

While he lacks front-line experience, he would not be the first keeper to bed in at Carlisle despite having few appearances under his belt. Bonham also says the chance to come to Brunton Park appealed more than the other options he had been entertaining.

"Simon rang me about two or three weeks before it got released, and told me everything about the club - the pitch, the training ground, the way things are run and how professional it is, how well they did last year, and what the ambitions are," he says.

"That was exciting for me. It's nice to know you're linked with somewhere, and there's a chance you can go and play. I think the interest grew stronger as the weeks went on, and it was made clear that I was wanted here, which was a nice feeling. It probably took a bit longer than both clubs wanted but I'm glad it's over the line and I'm here now.

"There were a few other clubs - a few clubs closer to home for me - but in terms of football, the vision of the club and how well the club did last year, the others didn't really compare. It never really crossed my mind that I'd go anywhere else if Carlisle were willing to do it.

"Ultimately you want to go somewhere that wants to get promoted, where everyone wants to be successful in their careers. It was just that phonecall, really, and my mind had already been made up, seeing how well they'd done, and the football they play.

"That's a big part of my development. I like to get on the ball, be part of the build-up. They've said that they like to play out from the back, they like to play with the ball, they like to keep the ball. Ultimately that's why I think they chose me to come here."

Pre-season friendlies, which start at Carlisle City this weekend, will offer both Bonham and United the chance to flesh out this idea. While Curle has often asked Carlisle to build from the back, the Blues have not been averse to more direct play, particularly in the second half of last season.

Whether the new keeper's arrival will see a move in one particular direction remains to be seen. More broadly, the experience of League Two's frontline - provided he sees off competition from an expected second goalkeeping arrival - will take Bonham out of his comfort zone.

It is where he wants to be. "It's been great so far - all the lads have welcomed me unbelievably well, and I can see how tight the group is already, which is what you want when you're going into such a long season," he says.

"The work has been a lot different to what I'm used to at Brentford, but doing different things is never bad. If it can improve you in different areas, and physically if I'm doing things I'm not used to doing, it's only going to make you stronger.

"Before coming here I did as much research as I could. It was disappointing for the club to miss out on the day at Wembley in the play-offs, and that chance of promotion. But if you can learn from it, and use that disappointment to push forward, there's no reason why we can't get promoted this year."

The latter remark indicates that Bonham is already looking further than January with United. "Longer-term, ideally, we will be up there at the top of the table after six months, and I can stay for the year. Then go back to Brentford and see where it takes me."