Provided your family history is straightforward, that is, no change of names, adoptions, frequent moving from place to place, you should be able to get back via records and censuses to before 1800.
Beyond that, ordinary working folk such as agricultural workers, miners, weavers, tradesmen etc will not have left a trail. People with property, tenant farmers, professional people such as doctors, lawyers, clergy, military families will be easier to trace.
I've only got one line in my tree much beyond 1800 and they were educated: a minister, a lawyer, army surgeons. (And there was me thinking I was the first in my family to go to university!) I was able to handle the parchment degree of my 5G grandfather Rev. Norman Sievwright who studied at Aberdeen Marischal College from 1744. It is held by Angus Archives. They wouldn't let me photograph it though.
Family history is more than how far back you get, in my opinion. It is finding out about their lives and not just about dates.
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