M6 Junction 40: Skirsgill – A66 Penrith
Junction 40 of the M6, known as Skirsgill, is where the M6 meets the A66, for Penrith / Keswick. The nearest town is Penrith, about 0.8 miles to the north. Villages right beside the junction include Yanwath, Eamont Bridge and Sockbridge.
Roads that meet at or beside this junction: A6, A66, A592, A686, B5288, B5320. The main road at the junction is the A66.
From here, the drive north to junction 41 (Wetheral) is about 2.6 miles and the drive south to junction 39 (Shap) is about 11 miles. Junction 40 is about 184 miles from the start of the M6 at junction 1 and 27 miles from the end at junction 45.
- Junction M6 J40 · Skirsgill
- Signed for A66 · Penrith / Keswick
- Nearest town Penrith, 0.8 miles north
- Map section Section 7: J36–J40, The Lake District, Tebay and Shap
- Map section Section 8: J40–J45, Penrith, Carlisle and Gretna
We also have a page on M6 Junctions 36 to 40: the Lake District, the Dales and Shap, with the traffic counts and news for that stretch.
Live traffic at M6 junction 40
The speed strip below shows the M6 from junction 38 to junction 42, both directions, from National Highways’ live data, checked every five minutes.
Live traffic speed flow: M6 Junctions 38 to 42
Untick all three to see just the speeds. We show the important overhead signs and the mandatory speed limits (red ring); see every overhead sign.
Go to our live M6 traffic speed flow map ›
How busy is the M6 at junction 40?
The Department for Transport counts traffic on the stretches either side of this junction. On the stretch it labels J40 to J41 it counted 65,722 vehicles a day in 2025, 13% of them lorries. On the stretch it labels J39 to J40 it counted 39,666 vehicles a day in 2025, 17% of them lorries. See how busy the M6 is junction by junction.
| Stretch (DfT label) | All vehicles a day | Lorries | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|
| J40 to J41 | 65,722 | 8,806 (13.4%) | 3.1 |
| J39 to J40 | 39,666 | 6,550 (16.5%) | 11.2 |
© M6Traffic.co.uk · Statistics from the Department for Transport, 2025
Junctions either side
- J39Shap / Hardendale InterchangeA6 · ShapNearest town: Shap, 1.9 miles
- J41Catterlen InterchangeA6 · Wetheral / Penrith (north)Nearest town: Penrith, 2.5 miles
Live traffic news at M6 Junction 40
Incidents and roadworks between Junction 39 and Junction 41 that we are aware of.
M6 Southbound Jct 41 entry slip road Lane 1 closure
00:305 Oct 2026reported 12 min ago
- Location
- M6 northbound between J41 and J42
- Direction
- Northbound
- Lanes closed
- Slip road closed
- Reason
- Road improvement or upgrading
- Schedule
- 20:00 Sat 18 July 2026 → 06:00 Tue 31 Dec 2030
+ 11 more near Junction 40 - see all the M6 traffic news →
This is the news for Junction 40 only, not the whole M6. For the rest of the motorway see all the latest M6 traffic news, the overhead signs and the speed limits in force now.
Updated 00:42 Mon 5 Oct 2026