There are 2 real choices, both using Eurostar/TGV from London St.Pancras to Tours.

The simplest way is from London via Lille, the alternative is from London via Paris.

Travelling time from London to Tours is under 6 hours for either route.

If you can time it correctly the better route is via Lille, but there are only two trains a day to Lille Europe where you can change for the direct train to Tours.

There are regular trains to Paris Gare du Nord that take about 2 and a half hours.

The quickest way is then to get the TVG from Gare Montparnasse to Tours which takes just over an hour.
Unfortunately, you should allow over another hour to haul your luggage via the Metro to get between the mainline stations.

In Gare du Nord you need Metro Line 4 (pink) signposted 'Direction Porte d'Orleans' to get to Gare Montparnasse for the TGV to Tours.
When Tours is not the final destination, trains stop at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps station.
A rail shuttle leaves within ten minutes for Tours.
Do not forget that tickets must be punched before boarding the train.
The bus station in Tours (opposite the railway station) has a left luggage service.

From Paris another route is to take the Teoz train from Gare Austerlitz to Vierzon, Issudun or Chateauroux.

Getting to Gare Austerlitz from Gare du Nord is direct on the RER D line which will be quicker, Teoz is newer but slower than the TGV.

It just depends on where you are going in the Loire Valley area.

Prior booking is essential on the TGV Atlantique high speed train.

From Tours there are direct links to: Paris, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Caen, Nantes, Lyon, Grenoble, Marseille, Lille... to name but a few.

The two most popular ways by car are to cross from Kent via on the ferries or tunnel, and the Portsmouth to Caen ferry.

The drive from Calais can take about 5 hours on motorways with tolls, and about 4 hours from Caen on the more leisurely 'D' roads.

Brittany Ferries travel from Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg and St.Malo,
Their other routes are Plymouth to Roscoff
and Poole to Cherbourg.

Hoverspeed can take you quickly from Dover to Calais

P&O sail from Dover to Calais and

Slower but perhaps easier is the trip from Newhaven to Dieppe

Condor Ferries have catamarans to travel from Weymouth to St.Malo

Ryanair's daily flight from London Stanstead to Tours is often the quickest and cheapest route to the Loire Valley area,

but FlyBe have daily flights from

Southampton to Limoges, Angers, Poitiers and Paris

Bournmouth to Nantes

and Exeter to Paris

From many other UK regional airports the option is to fly to Paris and get the high speed TGV train to Tours.

Most flights arrive at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) where there are 4 or 5 trains a day direct to Tours, taking under 2 hours.

Journey times (in hours:minutes) are approximate and do not include stopping for a café etc. An * denotes a port with ferries to England.

If you plan to use Autoroutes (motorways), you can look for roadworks areas here.